Chapter 3 Sasaki Natsumi ②
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
Just how long had I been out cold? When I finally woke up, I was in a vast stone room—completely different from our classroom. It was much wider than where we had been, and on the floor was a magic circle¹ drawn with complex geometric patterns.
”Where are we…?” I muttered.
”I have no idea where we might be, de gozaru,” Tatei replied. He was one of the few friends I had in our class.
Everyone was looking around the room. I could tell just by looking at their faces that they were in a panic. Even Sugita couldn’t hide his fear.
”Aha! It was a success!”
”With this, the world is as good as saved,” another voice said.
Sudden, new voices filled the room. Turning toward them, I saw a group of strangers: a heavy-set, middle-aged man with a white beard dressed as a king; a tall, thin man with a kaiser mustache; several knights in full armor; and a young woman about our age with blonde hair and blue eyes. She wore a thin silk dress that showed off her body quite clearly.
Like me, every boy in the room couldn’t help but look at her.
”Whoa, she’s so pretty…”
”Look at that dress. It’s almost like you can see through it…”
”I wonder if she’d let me…”
As the boys said these lustful things, the girls watched them with cold, harsh eyes.
”Ugh, these guys are the worst.”
”I mean, look at her. She’s basically a slut, right?”
”Maybe she’s just trying to flirt her way into a good spot. But she has a great figure and she’s beautiful… I feel like I lost…”
One girl was even hanging her head in defeat.
”Ahem!” the King said, letting out a forced cough. He was trying to act important, and since we were ignoring him, he had to get our attention.
”Welcome, Heroes from another world. I am King Maugo of the Kingdom of Plaudix².”
”And I am Chancellor Usals. It is a pleasure to meet you all,” the tall man added.
Plaudix… I’d never heard of such a country. Unless this was some kind of big joke, we were really in another world. After all, moving us from our classroom to a place like this in just a few minutes would be impossible.
”I don’t know what you’re thinking, but could you please return us to our original home?” Nagase-sensei said, stepping forward. She was finally acting like a teacher. Usually, she was just a trashy teacher who ignored the bullying in class.
”I am sorry, but we cannot do that,” the woman in thin silk answered sadly.
”We have the power to summon you here, but we cannot send you back.”
As soon as she said those words, everyone started shouting.
”What? We can’t go back?”
”Don’t mess with us! You kidnapped us! That’s a crime!”
”Please… let me go home… I want to go home!”
Some people were shocked, some were angry, and some started crying. One thing was certain: almost no one was okay with this crazy reality.
But the whole ‘we can summon you but can’t send you back’ thing is such a common trope. I’d read this exact setup in light novels before, though I never thought I’d be the one it happened to. Still, thanks to those books, I knew enough to stay calm. However, I had games I hadn’t finished and anime I hadn’t seen yet; there was so many things I still wanted to do. It might be a silly reason, but my honest feeling was that I wanted to go home too.
But my other friend, Yokoo, was actually happy about this.
”Hehe… heh… exactly what I’ve been waiting for! Finally! The time for me, the reborn Holy Knight³, to show my true power!”
Ah, right. There was that guy too.
Nishiyama Kishi (Knight). His ‘sparkly’ name was bad enough, but his personality was even worse. He was a ‘chunibyo’ who truly believed he was the rebirth of some legendary hero. With a face full of acne, he was such a loser that even Sugita and his group wouldn’t go near him.
However, King Maugo and the woman, who didn’t know what a ‘chunibyo’ was, were nodding and saying, “How reliable!”
His school grades and physical power are both the worst in the class, so you shouldn’t expect anything from him… I thought. But I couldn’t say that out loud.
”By the way, you said you couldn’t send us back. Does that mean you specifically can’t do it?” Natsumi asked. I had been trying to stay quiet, but things were getting out of control, so I asked her directly.
”Yes, that is correct. We cannot return you. However, the Goddess could send you back to your world,” she explained.
A wave of relief hit the class. Everyone started cheering because there was a way home—well, for most of us.
”Yes! We can go home!”
”Thank goodness. I thought I’d have to live in this empty place forever.”
”You’re actually pretty smart for once, Natsumi. I’ll thank you just this one time. Hey, hurry up and send us back!” Hagimoto said. I didn’t care about his thanks.
”Wait. If there is a way back, then why bring us here? I assume you want us to do something for you?” Yuki asked. Even if we could leave, the reason for being summoned was still a mystery.
”Yes. Right now, this world is being ruined by the Demon King⁴ and is heading toward its end. We have no way to fight that evil Demon King. That is why we need you to defeat him and become the Heroes who save our world.”
…I knew it would be something like that. It’s just too cliché. Obviously, we were just normal students who shouldn’t be in a war. Everyone started complaining.
”What is that!”
”There’s no way we can do that!”
”Don’t joke with us!”
”Heh… it’s finally my turn!!”
”Shut up, Nishiyama!”
”I… I thought so, but I… I don’t have any power to fight…” one boy said, trembling.
”He’s right. To suddenly ask us to fight a Demon King… that’s just too much, de gozaru,” Tatei added.
He was right. But I wanted them to remember—what did that ‘Goddess’ say in the broadcast before we were brought here?
”Please, don’t worry. When you were summoned, you should have received strong Skills from the Goddess. You will see them if you check your Status⁵,” the woman said.
Yep. We’re following the standard template perfectly.
”It’s faster if you see it yourself. ‘Status Open⁶‘!”
When the woman said that, a game-like screen appeared in the air. I was behind it, so I couldn’t see anything until she turned it toward us. It read:
Name: Mariana Plaudix
Race: Human
Sex: Female
Class: Saint⁷
Level: 16
LP: 500/500
MP: 0/750
Condition: Fatigue
STR: 75
VIT: 50
DEX: 100
AGI: 75
MAG: 250
MIN: 500
Skills:
Staff Lv1 (C)
Healing Magic Lv3 (UC)
Etiquette Lv5 (C)
Hero Summoning (UN)
Titles:
Second Princess of the Kingdom of Plaudix
Saint
Hero Summoner
So Princess Mariana is a Saint? And a Princess? Such a cliché. Ignoring the stats for a second, that ‘Hero Summoner’ title caught my eye. So she was the one who pulled us here. Her MP was at 0, but she hadn’t fainted. So the trope of passing out at 0 MP doesn’t happen here. She did look tired, though.
I realized I was looking at this with a ‘gamer brain’ again.
”This is how you check your own info. Usually, you can’t see someone else’s stats without an Appraisal Skill. I’m only showing mine so you can understand…” Mariana said.
It’s true. If anyone could just see your stats, it would be a huge loss of privacy. But a world with stats… it really is like a game. The others seemed to think so too.
”It’s just like a game.”
”Let’s check our stats too.”
”This is as scary as looking at a report card. My heart is racing…”
”Heh… my stats are going to be amazing, I know it… Here goes! ‘Status Open’!” Nishiyama shouted.
”Oh, I forgot to tell you—you don’t have to say it. You can open it just by thinking it in your head,” Mariana said with a smile.
As the class started laughing, Nishiyama turned bright red from shame. Anyway, everyone else started opening their screens. I did the same, focusing my mind on the command. What appeared before my eyes was—
—
Summary:
Natsumi and his class are summoned to the Kingdom of Plaudix to serve as Heroes. They meet King Maugo and Princess Mariana, who explain that they must defeat the Demon King to eventually go home. The group begins to use the ‘Status’ system to see their new powers, while Natsumi remains skeptical of the situation.
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Character Insight:
Natsumi utilizes his knowledge of fiction to remain detached and analytical, acting as the ‘grounded’ observer among panicking students. Nishiyama represents the danger of ‘Chunibyo’ in a real fantasy setting, where his delusions are mistaken for bravery by the local royalty. Princess Mariana’s airheaded mistake regarding the Status command suggests that while she holds great power as a Saint, she may not be as reliable as she appears.
—
Behind the Scene:
This chapter establishes the core ‘Narou-style’ mechanics: the status screen, summoning without a return path, and the archetypal Saint princess. The choice of 0 MP leading to fatigue rather than unconsciousness is a specific world-building detail used to distinguish this series’ magic system from more traditional RPGs. Nishiyama’s ‘sparkly name’ (Kishi/Knight) is a common trope reflecting parents who give their children Western-sounding or eccentric names written in Kanji.
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T/L:
Notes:
• Tatei – Tatei Kozoo. Height 186 cm, weight 52 kg. Natsumi’s otaku friend. Originally a tall and sturdy man, but he became skin and bones due to anorexia. Possesses the skill ‘Materialization Alchemy’. Created equipment for the class.
• Sugita – The leader of the Sugita gang and the primary bully of Natsumi Sasaki. His grandfather is the Superintendent General and his father is a Police Superintendent, so the two of them covered up all his crimes. Because of this, he does whatever he wants wherever he goes.
• Maugo – The King of Plaudix. A stout, middle-aged man with a white beard.
• Usals – The Prime Minister of Plaudix. Tall, nervous-looking man with a kaiser mustache.
• Yokoo – Natsumi Sasaki’s otaku friend. His appearance is based on ‘Yoko’ from ‘Comic Party.’ Possesses ‘Materialization Summoning’. Accompanied by a Living Armor.
• Kishi – Height 165 cm, weight 84 kg. An unattractive guy with a face full of acne. A chuunibyou who calls himself a holy knight. After being kicked out of Plaudix, he went to Greedia where Natsumi humiliated him.
• Natsumi – The protagonist. Height 168 to 171 cm, weight 57 to 59 kg. He has a baby face, but he hides his eyes with his bangs. He was bullied by the Sugita gang just because his name sounded like a girl’s name.
• Hagimoto – One of the members of the Sugita gang who actively bullied Natsumi. At first glance, he looks like a cool, smart guy with glasses, but he is actually vulgar and has a foul mouth.
• Yuki – Yuki Chihiro. Height 178 cm, weight 70 kg (Male). Natsumi’s childhood friend. A handsome, athletic top student in the soccer club.
• Mariana – The second princess of Plaudix and a Saint. Blonde hair, blue eyes, wearing thin silk clothes. About the same age as the students.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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