Chapter 4 The Soldiers’ Dining Hall
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Once the final Job¹ confirmations were complete, we reassembled in the central plaza.
Out of our class of thirty-four—nineteen boys and fifteen girls—twenty-two had volunteered for the subjugation. Among the males, I was the only one who had opted out. From the snippets of conversation I overheard, the guys were utterly enthralled by the prospect of potentially claiming the Princess as a reward. The original plan involved returning to Japan after the Demon King² was defeated, but I had to wonder what they were actually thinking.
Included in this group of boys was a so-called Job Hero. Actually, it appeared that summoning a pack of youths led by a Job Hero was the standard procedure here. This Hero… a remarkably handsome fellow named Ikeda Hideo, stepped forward and proclaimed that he would henceforth command the Demon King subjugation squad.
On the girls’ side, several holding rearguard³ roles had joined up. They were quite eager to strike up conversations with Ikeda; presumably, they just wanted to be close to the resident heartthrob.
Since I was the sole male holdout, a suggestion arose—spearheaded by the Hero—that “Anma-kun⁴ really ought to join the fight too.” However, the pressure dissipated once they learned my Job was merely a Massage Therapist. That didn’t stop them from looking at me with eyes full of pure condescension, though.
”Hey, Anma⁵, look on the bright side. I’ll let a grunt like you give me a massage later,” one particularly arrogant guy taunted. But the Princess intervened. “If any of you find yourselves fatigued, we have maids who specialize in massage whom we can dispatch to assist you,” she said. The guy immediately backed off. It made sense; I’m sure he’d much rather be massaged by a cute maid than force me to do it just for the sake of harassment.
The girls also kept their distance, but after the Princess clarified things, they stopped paying me any mind. “Anma-sama⁶ possesses no combat ability⁷ whatsoever,” the Princess explained. “We intend to have him tend to the palace staff.” Once they realized I was neither a threat nor someone they’d ever need to interact with, I became effectively invisible to them.
Only Sensei, who seemed to possess no sense of caution at all, approached me. “Could you rub my shoulders for a bit? They’ve been so stiff lately,” she asked. Before I could respond, she was swiftly hauled away by the Class President⁸ and a few others. She ended up getting her shoulders rubbed by the other girls instead.
* * *
Afterward, we were shown to our individual quarters. It seemed the standard was a single room for everyone, but since I wasn’t part of the subjugation force, I couldn’t be given the same treatment. Instead, I was assigned a double room occasionally utilized by lower-tier servants. That said, the surrounding rooms didn’t appear to be occupied.
The Princess likely allocated this room far away from the others to make it easier for her to visit. Since running into the other guys would only result in being mocked, I had no complaints. The space was more than adequate, and because it was a double room, it came with two beds and two chairs. Honestly, having a double room all to myself felt like a step up in treatment.
Another difference was my dining arrangements. I was instructed to take my meals in the dining hall used by the male staff. The other summoned individuals could choose between a private dining suite nearby or having meals delivered directly to their rooms.
Since there were no further events scheduled for today, the rest of the time was mine to spend as I pleased. My specific duties as a massage therapist hadn’t been finalized yet, so I was told I’d receive further instructions tomorrow morning.
* * *
I saw off the maid and made my way to the dining hall.
The facility was shared by the soldiers stationed in the castle barracks, so the room was filled with men possessing impressively honed physiques. They looked at me with confusion at first, but their faces quickly shifted to realization. It seemed the news of a summoned massage therapist had already made the rounds. Several of them approached me, asking for quick massages they could receive while seated. They explained that, given their rank, they didn’t have the luxury of getting massages from the maids.
I worked on their shoulders, backs, and waists for a bit. “Whoa, I feel like a weight’s been lifted!” they exclaimed, clearly delighted. It appeared ‘Advanced Anma’ was remarkably potent. As I massaged the older soldiers who were lining up for their turn, I used the opportunity to gather some Intel through casual small talk.
”You guys are really built… Is this cafeteria exclusively for soldiers?” I asked.
”Ahhh~. Well, for the most part, yeah,” one soldier replied. “The civil servants working in the castle usually have their own homes in the capital, so they commute. Most of them head back to eat with their families at night. But us soldiers are required to stay on-site overnight unless we’re on official leave. So, we basically live here.”
I see. I also learned that married soldiers are exempt from the overnight stay requirement, aside from their actual shifts. That meant nearly everyone in the room was a single middle-aged man. It certainly explained why the air was thick with crude jokes. I’d wondered why the dining halls were strictly segregated by gender, but perhaps these guys were the reason.
”Everyone seemed to know I was a massage therapist the moment they saw me. News travels fast around here,” I noted.
”Well, yeah. A total stranger showing up in the castle is a big deal,” the soldier said. “They gave us a heads-up so we wouldn’t mistake you for a suspicious intruder. Besides, the summoned kids on the subjugation squad—the ‘Summoned Ones,’ as we call ’em—they don’t set foot in this dining hall. We heard there was only one guy being sheltered this time, so word got around instantly.”
”Man, being the only one is something else. I’m surprised the others just went along with it,” I said.
”Hahaha! Oh, they went along with it, alright,” the soldier laughed. “You weren’t told since you aren’t a combat Job, but those maids who do the massages? They’re basically high-end prostitutes, too. The kingdom persuades those boys by telling ’em that if they join the subjugation squad, they can have a girl in their room every single night. Teenage boys fall for that hook, line, and sinker.”
”Which is why, unfortunately, no maids are being sent to your room,” the soldier added. “They say being stuck in a double room with all that pent-up frustration is a nightmare, but luckily you’re alone. You’ll just have to make do and handle things yourself.”
So that was the catch. Apparently, the male Summoned Ones on the subjugation squad live in rooms that are basically love hotels. Their nights are filled with everything from bath-play and massage-play to full-blown sex and overnight companionship. Maybe that handsome Hero’s invitation for me to join the squad was actually a weirdly sincere gesture. Then again, I wondered if these soldiers were even supposed to be telling me this.
On the flip side, there was apparently no such incentive for the female Summoned Ones. Joining the squad only offered them a bit more luxury, which explained why so few of them participated. In fact, it seemed the kingdom preferred the women to contribute to the cultural sphere and intentionally kept them away from the front lines.
* * *
The meal itself was excellent. Apparently, the summoned groups almost always include at least one person with a ‘Chef’ Job, and this batch was no exception. The kingdom has spent generations compiling the techniques and recipes brought over by those chefs, so the culinary standards here are incredibly high.
Since I had no idea when the Princess might drop by, I decided to take a quick shower. The bathroom was functional—neither cramped nor spacious. It felt exactly like a modular unit bath you’d find in a standard business hotel back home.
I changed into the clothes that had been prepared for me: a simple T-shirt and cargo pants. Technological gap aside, the culture here didn’t feel drastically different from Earth’s. Perhaps the heroes of the past had gradually shifted the culture to mirror their own.
With nothing left to do, I settled in to relax. Or rather, there was literally nothing to do. I had my smartphone, but there was no signal, and I didn’t want to waste the battery.
I found myself wondering if the other guys were currently drowning in ‘maid-play’ at this very moment. As I was lost in these idle, useless thoughts, there was a knock at the door. Had the Princess finally arrived?
I stood up and called out, “Come in!”
”Pardon the intrusion,” a voice said.
A woman of modest height, with a largely endowed chest and soft, rounded hips. A very feminine figure draped in a white one-piece dress, speaking with a gentle, airy tone. The person who stepped into the room was Nishiyama-sensei. Wait… what?
—
Author’s Note:
Soldier: “Man, I wish I could get in on some of that maid action…”
Maid: “Maybe the reason you’re single is because you’re talking about that in a public dining hall?”
—
Summary:
Anma settles into his new life at the royal palace as the only male student to refuse the Demon King subjugation quest. While the other boys are lured into the squad with promises of sexual rewards, Anma enjoys a spacious room and builds rapport with the local soldiers by providing massages. His peaceful evening is interrupted by an unexpected visitor. Instead of the Princess he was expecting, his teacher, Nishiyama-sensei, appears in his room.
—
Character Insight:
Anma’s detachment from the typical ‘hero’ mindset allows him to see the manipulative structures of the kingdom that his classmates ignore. His ability to connect with the common soldiers through his ‘Advanced Anma’ skill provides him with a unique information network that the ‘Heroes’ lack. Meanwhile, Nishiyama-sensei’s sudden appearance in his room, despite her being a teacher, highlights either her extreme naivety or a hidden agenda regarding the student who was ‘left behind.’
—
Behind the Scene:
The reveal of the ‘maid-play’ system serves as a dark subversion of typical isekai tropes, showing how the host nation exploits teenage hormones to create a loyal fighting force. The world-building notes on ‘Chef’ Jobs explain why the fantasy world’s food is surprisingly modern, nodding to the long history of summoned individuals influencing the culture. This chapter sets up the contrast between the front-line ‘combatants’ and the domestic ‘sheltered’ life of the protagonist.
—
T/L:
Notes:
• Hideo – A handsome student with the Job of ‘Hero’. He leads the subjugation squad.
• Nishiyama – The homeroom teacher and math instructor. She has a short stature, a womanly body with a large chest and rounded hips, and speaks in a gentle manner. Wears a white dress cinched at the waist. Her Job is Flower Mage.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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