“I’m bored.” August who had dozed off for an hour got up from lying on the seat and looked at us, who were reading the book silently. “Read the book, it is something to do.” “Don’t bother with him, I know a guy like him in my world.” “Tch, what’s your problem, Akujin?!” Erganisu and Akujin had diligently studying the content in the book addressed to the bored August. August got up and walked towards me. He sat beside me. “I wanna run. I wish I could go to where there’s an open field- an oval running track where I could run all I want.” He looked at me with a refreshing expression. As I was also busy memorizing, I only gave him a gentle smile in return. He frowned but afterward he sighed instead of keeping the frown. “Fine, I read the goddamned book.” He opened the book. A good one hour of silence had passed with everyone memorizing the content. The first to finish was Erganisu and Akujin. They were both seemingly discussing the content of the book in quite an objective manner but I couldn’t properly make a sense out of it as I was sitting around the corner near the portal after Dekhine had left. The time passed by again and I finally finished memorizing after half an hour or so and I decided to join the discussion. Leaving the slightly struggling August who had seated beside me, I got up towards the two. “I believe onions are better off uncooked and raw. It has more beneficial properties.” “That is just disgusting. Cooking them, grilling them, frying them is the only proper way to prepare them.” Ehh? I thought of entering into an invigorating discussion about the possible origin of Ancient Words but it seems that it was a different yet simulating debate about the preferred way to eat onions. …… “Look, perhaps a third party opinion would provide a better insight on this debate.” “Fine, eh is it Ruigne? Anyway, which do you prefer, cooked onions or fresh onions?” The two was looking at me seriously, as though the answer that will comes out from my mouth would decide the outcome of the argument. “Personally, I hate onions, cooked or fresh.” My preference is easy to bite and no bones. I don’t mind vegetables but I can’t stand onions regardless of how they’ll be prepared. Both of them were gawking at me after hearing my answer as thought they had found a heretic. I didn’t know that they took it at that level of truly serious as ‘what did you say bitch?’ expression were on both of their faces. “… I think on this matter, we can agree that his opinion is of no concern.” “Truly, let us forget what he said and agree to disagree that our personal preference are what is best for our own.” They made peace with an agreeable nodding to each other. Looks like my dislike for onion had made them united into a common front. Well, I better back off from here. So I made my way to the elven twin. “You know, we’re in a new world so you better give at least some commitment in here.” “… Haa, it’s easy for you but I… we lost a lot…” “……” It’s seems that they are talking about something personal, so I hurriedly back away and return sitting next to August. An hour had passed and the portal opened up again. Dekhine came in and she looked satisfied. “Have you guys completely memorized all the basic?” Everyone, well almost everyone made an affirmative nods or sound. From the corner of my eyes, I saw that Vefal looked slightly happy when she saw Dekhine. Dekhine abruptly dismissed us and we left the place via portal. We had a brief supper before the evening training. On the evening training, Gavrau had said that we will be conducting them by ourselves since there were three of the group that are proficient in combat art. Gavrau does come in a while to observe but not much then that. Just like in the morning training, I was paired with Vefal. We had warm-up exercise and she indifferently instructed me on the art of combat. We tried to have a match but as predict, she won as she went all offensive and I struggled to keep up with her flurry of attacks. After a few literal mock matches, my body was on the ground, unable to even get up due to severe exhaustion. “I don’t know why but your stamina is laughable. Even the peasant in my world would still be able to stand after all of this. Does your world truly have no danger of monsters?” Vefal who stood beside me sat down next to my collapsed self. “… Not really. We were kind of on top of the food chain, I think. What about your world?” “We have danger of monsters ever since the elves had existed so naturally even the peasants need to have combat training.” “Are there any other races in your world? In mine, we human were the only one that existed although we have made up races like… elves and dwarves.” “Made up huh?” She chuckled over that fact. “We actually have vague and debatable records that human had existed but all traces of them were gone or rather, they went extinct.” That’s an ironic of a sort. I guess in their world the elves regarded the human as something like how we regarded the Neanderthal or maybe something that comes out from the fantasy genre. “When my brother and I were summoned here, we were shocked not only by being summoned but also the creatures that were summoned along us. To think that there were so many different creatures existed and to see a human first-hand.” “Huh, so those summoned monsters don’t exist in your world?” “Nope, they don’t.” I tried to get up but the pain was coursing throughout my entire body. The consequence of not exercising really bites deep. “You should stay like that for a while; I actually wanted to lie down as well.” Both of us were staring at the sky. As I was observing them with a focus, I noticed that the sky was almost the same like the sky back on earth, a slightly reddish with yellowish hues on every cloud. “Does the sky remind of your?” “… It does…” Vefal said it with a slight change of tone, the depressing one. I remembered one of the circumstances of which qualified you to be summoned. Probably better if I stay silent now so I don’t accidentally pry on someone’s tragedy. We stared at the sky in silent as time passed by side by side. I wonder what my friends and my family back on earth would think about my disappearance… “Hey, it’s time to go.” Kiefy came by our side and held out a hand for his sister. She grabs it and get up. She then offered a hand towards me. I… will be honest. I am scared. Suddenly being thrown into an unknown environment and suddenly being thrust with a responsibility that seems too unrealistic and too far-fetched and losing part of my memories, I am crippled by such thing if I were alone to shoulder them. But I have these people along to share the burden with and I think everything will be fine in the end. I grabbed it and it had reassuring warmth spreading through my hand. I got up and looked at the five people that share the same fate and predicament as I am. Yeah… I’ll be alright. -- After we returned to the field of Fhagec, we all stopped in and stood in line where we had first received the stone keys. Everyone else was here too including the Heirs. It seems there’s another thing that needed to be addressed. There was a feathered armoured official who was slouching as though he was burdened by unimaginable weight. “For dinner, each team shall make something for themselves in order to cultivate a sense of self-independent and self-sufficient. That is all.” With such a short speech, the official lazily left through the portal without hesitating. Well, I would like to do that but where we can do that? We can’t operate the portal so- Oh there’s another building beside the Fhagecs. We didn’t notice it at night because it was too dark or this morning because we were rushing. We all went inside the building. From the inside it looked like cafeteria hall like the one in my university. I was shocked seeing that the manticore was fit enough to go through the entrance. It was a facility complete with tables and long chairs and even further inside, there was a room. And that room was the kitchen with various cooking utensils and tools and various cooking appliances just like stoves. Food ingredients were stacked on the cabinets and there was also a refrigerator room of a sort for the meats and other ingredient that needed to stay fresh. It was all complete in a set. Strangely or not, only Erganisu and I had some knowledge in cooking. The others had vetoed themselves when asked. So we prepared and cooked. It was all simple as ‘roast the meat and the vegetables’. I was following Erganisu way in cooking and I realized his definition of cooking was ‘one step only’ so everything was quick and ordinary. It had a hint of the survivalist and ‘anything goes’ mind set of a cooking. We presented it to the rest as we were the first to finished, ahead of everyone else. It has no aesthetic value and was quite bland that the other four were hesitating to eat. Erganisu, without caring, took some meat and vegetables and began eating. I was the second to eat. After seeing both of us quietly eating the meal without retching or being disgusted, they decided to eat too. It tasted just how it looked but it filled and warmed the stomach. The rest of the summoned were still agitated as the ice remained un-break. I guess it takes some time. I wanted to talk to Aeriasus, but I think it’s inappropriate for a person like me to approach her first.