“Summoned heroes?” That simple question sends a shock to three Japanese girls and their accompanying knight commander. The reason for that is because the matter of summoning heroes from another world is supposed to be a secret, after all.

Instead of becoming welcomed as the savior like in the usual isekai stories, summoned hero is pretty much a taboo in this world, judging from what the previous hero had done. It is true that the hero defeated the demon in the previous war, however she also defeated the human side after that. Both sides were devastated heavily by the hero and a new force emerged in the darkness of history, The Heaven Sect, an organization composed of cultivators who are supporters and disciples of the previous hero.

If words about Vahallad arbitrarily summoning the heroes from another world get to the other factors in this world, the country will suffer many problems and hostility from all directions. The other human countries will give pressure to Vahalla on the negotiation table, affecting the relationship between them, while the demon side will concentrate their attack on them. However, that is still not the worst scenario. If the Heaven Sect learns about this and this organization appears again in Tristina, mass panic will arise and, it will probably spell the end of the current countries. That is why the matter of summoned heroes is only known by a handful group of people in Vahalla. The heroes are reminded not to expose their identity under any circumstance.

Unfortunately, that identity is suddenly discovered by an unknown person. They do not know how the girl in front of them found out, but the fact that she knows their identity makes her a dangerous thread to Vahalla.

The relaxed air suddenly becomes suffocating and tense after her question. The knight commander quickly hides his emotion and shows a befuddled face at her question, ready to pretend he doesn’t understand what she is saying. But in his head, he is thinking various ideas how to get rid of Makoto and keep this information hidden.

However, different from the knight commander, the three heroes’ reaction is completely opposite.

“Hey, that face, and also that name, Makoto Tachibana. There is no mistake that is a Japanese, right?” Airi whispers.

“Yeah, I think so too. She is definitely Japanese. And she immediately said ‘summoned heroes’ without any reserve. I think she is pretty much familiar with the term. Otherwise, I don’t think any normal person in this world will suddenly say something outrageous like that.” Hitomi agrees.

“Isn’t that great? We are meeting people from the same world as us aside our classmates. As fellow people from the same world, and even the same country, we should help each other out right?” Kazuko says with excitement.

The excitement of meeting fellow countryman in an unexpected place fills the three girls’ heart. They are so excited that although they have talked in small volume, the others cannot help but direct attention toward them. The surrounding knights and solders cannot understand anything, because the three are speaking in Japanese. But that does not apply to the magical girl and the cat.

“Hey, Makoto. It looks like we hit a jackpot.” Lexar whispers.

“Yeah. This is an unexpected surprise. We have made the worst assumption having to search any corner of this world in order to find out anything regarding the summoning ritual. However, to think that there are summoned heroes at this time and judging from their age and behavior, they are no doubt Japanese students. It looks like our journey will be complete much faster than we estimate.” Makoto says.

“What are you going to do now, Makoto? Should we tell them our real identity?”

“From their conversation, they have already found out that we are also the same as them. There is no need to hide that we are also Japanese and got thrown into this world. However, I don’t know whether we should tell them our world’s situation. The matter about Animium is not something we should disclose easily. You can notice it right, Lexar? There is no trace of Animium inside them, neither of two types.”

“Yeah, that’s the strange part. It’s very rare to see young people without Animium. There are two possibilities that I can think of. The first is that their Animium has been drained out from them. The second one, I hope that it is not the case.”

“What is the second possibility?”

“The second one is that they are not from the same world as you. Like me, they are not from the same Earth as you.”

“That will certainly be bad. If we can reverse engineer the summoning ritual and perform a reverse summon, we can probably end up in a different Japan. But now you have mentioned it, we will not make that mistake. Confirming whether they are from the same world as us is easy, and that actually does not matter much. Either way, we still need to get into contact with them to learn about the summoning ritual.”

The exchange is short and silent, but does not escape the knight commander’s sight either. However, seeing Makoto use the same kind language with the heroes, the knight commander seems to realize something, making him reduce the hostility toward her. But he still holds the caution inside.

“Nice to meet you, Miss Tachibana. My name is Victor Kradia, commander of the 9th royal knight division. Although I have heard it from the messenger, I want to confirm with you again. Are you the one who defeated the elite goblin unit that infiltrated this town?” Victor decides to ignore the taboo word she just said and resumes their supposed exchange.

“It seems like the intel unit is doing a good job, to notice that there was such a group of goblin. I thought that only I know about them. You are right. The one who defeated them is me.” Makoto nods, confirming the knight commander’s words.

“And Yuuko Kurosawa, the one who defeated multiple Earth Snakes out there, is your friend, right? To think that you two are so powerful at such a young age, your master must be an amazing person as well. May I ask who your master is?”

“I am sorry but my master forbids us to say out his name. He says that telling his identity will bring more troubles to us than help. That’s why I’d like not to say it.”

Pausing for a moment, Victor closes his eyes and seems to be thinking something. After that, he bows his head to Makoto “Then, I apologize for my rudeness. And let me thank you for your effort and contribution to save this town. If it were not for your help, the destruction would spread further, and the casualty would be more serious.”

Following him, the town mayor, Brian, his solders and the knight corps follow suit. Even the hero girls also stop their exchange and bow slightly to Makoto to express the gratitude. At that time, they see Makoto moving her lips silently.

“Ni-hon-jin (Japanese). There is no mistake about it. She is a really Japanese like us.” Hitomi whispers. “Talk-later-with-you-alone. She wants to talk with us without the knight commander around. I think she has something important to discuss with us.”

“Um. Judging from their strength, they also received the same cheat as us. Probably much stronger. I think she has as much strength as Kaito’s group and Ishida’s.” Kazuko comments.

Kaito Takehara is the leader of the active hero faction in class. He thinks that living in this world is much more worthwhile than in the world they belonged to. He believes that with the given special ability, they can lead a better, more fulfilling, accomplished life than in Japan. That’s why in order to take root deeply in this world, he proposes the other students to actively work their duties as heroes to be useful to the country. By being useful, he believes that they become an inseparable force and become truly citizens of Vahallad, and if possible, part of the royal family.

Ishida Shirogane, former class leader and member of the student council, is the leader of the skeptic faction. He holds caution toward the country who summoned them, thinking that they are plotting something. Despite the warm welcome and being open to them about any question he asks, Ishida is suspecting that the country only thinks of them as disposable pawns, ready to sacrifice them when it is necessary. He strongly believes that Vahallad does not really have any good opinion on them as summoned heroes and citizens from another world, except for the help they can give. While on the surface helping as the heroes, the skeptic faction secretly investigate and gather information on any possibility that ill intention is directed to them.

With two separate factions, the class becomes divided. Kaito’s friends and Ishida’s also happened to possess strong cheat skill and stat, leading them having more influence. Thus, the class is separated further.

“What should we do, Hitomi?” Airi asks.

“I think we need to talk to them first about our class situation. After that, we will have her meet everyone else. But honestly, I don’t think that knight commander will not let us talk alone quietly, with my current situation.” Hitomi says.

A few minutes later, a girl in samurai armor enters the room. A slight blood stench enters everyone’s nose as they see the blood red armor. On that armor, they can see traces of blood oxidized by the air, further enhancing the intimating aura she is emitting.

“Such strong pressure. This can only come from a warrior who has bathed in blood from thousand of corpses. And to think that it comes from a young girl, it is quite terrifying.” Victor is in awe.

The atmosphere becomes icy with Yuuko’s entrance. Her presence is like a sharp sword ready to cut anyone in the path, making the solders, and even the knights strain up, not daring to relax around her. The hero trio become afraid instead of being excited meeting another Japanese.

“Hey, is she from the same time as us? I don’t think there is any modern Japanese girl with such a scary and bloodthirsty vibe. If you tell me she is from the Sengoku era, I will believe it.” Kazuko hides behind Hitomi’s back says.

Hitomi shields both of her friends in front of Yuuko. Although she knows that Yuuko is not hostile toward them at all, she still instinctively does so. The same goes for the knight captain, whose hand is on his sword hilt now.

Suddenly, a ball of water appears and splashes on the armored girl. The water washes off the blood on the armor as well as the menacing aura around her. Yuuko’s icy and expressionless face finally relaxes, showing an emotion fitting her age.

“How is it? Have you cooled down a little bit? You are scaring everyone here.” Makoto, the caster of the water ball, waves her hand at her friend.

“Sorry, looks like I just entered a very strange state. If it troubled everyone, I am sorry for it.” Yuuko makes an apologetic expression to everyone. Her sincere behavior surprises everyone as it contradicts her previous behavior.

“No problem. No problem. Seeing Miss Kurosawa being such a strong warrior makes me convinced of your ability to handle the biggest danger of our town. I want to thank you very much for your effort.” Brian laughs cheerfully then offers the same bow same as to Makoto. Following him, the other solders and knights also do so.

After the short exchange of gratitude, the knight commander speaks up to the magical girls.

“Although I’d like you two to take a rest today, the current situation is urgent. Would you please follow us to the capital and help to repel the goblin army?”