The consequences of straying from their faith in this world could potentially drive people to the brink of insanity.
As these thoughts swirled in Kelly's mind, he couldn't shake the unsettling feeling that they were walking into a world where the lines between religion, politics, and the supernatural were blurred, and the consequences of such entanglement could be far-reaching and unpredictable.
Kelly and the others were escorted to the throne room. The hallways they passed on their way were every bit as ostentatious as the temple had been. Lotario and the party of heroes finally found themselves standing before a pair of massive double doors, into which numerous beautiful designs had been engraved. Two guards were standing at attention on either side of the door, and they loudly announced the group's arrival to whomever was waiting within. Then, without waiting for a reply, they swung the door open.
Lotario leisurely passed through the entrance, clearly at ease. All of the students timidly followed behind him, with the exception of Agawa and his friends, who were seemingly unaffected by the splendor surrounding them. Within the room stretched a long red carpet that ended at the far wall. At its end lay a magnificent chair or rather throne. Standing in front of the throne was a middle-aged man who radiated an aura of solemn dignity. Next to him was presumably the queen, and next to her were a boy and a girl, both with blond hair and striking blond eyes.
The boy who was younger of the two was around the same age as them whereas the girl was in her early twenties. On the left side of the carpet was a line of soldiers, all clad in Armor and uniform. On the right, a line of civil officers. Altogether, there were probably around hundred people waiting in that room.
Once they were directly before the throne, Lotario left the students and went to stand beside the king. He was the only one beside him even though the Queen was two steps lower than the king. It looked like the pope was even more important than the Queen. Kelly sighed inwardly, as he was now certain that the Church had the same authority as the king.
'It was a good decision that I didn't overreact when I was angry'
As the party of heroes entered, everyone was genuinely confused, and the king gave words to that confusion.
"Ahem, Lotario, what is going on here? and which among them is the great hero."
"Ohh forgive my insolence, your majesty but it looked like the Gods are happy with our service as they all are the summoned heroes called to protect our nation but among them as you can see the overwhelming mana surrounding that young man answers your question" the pope answered by directing his hand towards Agawa.
After some "oohs" and "aahs" at the sight of Agawa, A flurry of self-introductions followed after that. The king's name was Tiridates E.C. Armenia, and his wife the queen was called Ashken. The blond boy was the prince Vlakas, and the girl was the princess christine. Then came introductions for the knight captain, the prime minister, and other important dignitaries.
"So, Hero-dono will you take us on our request to help us against our fight towards the demons?" the king asked in a solemn tone, in response to that Agawa suddenly knelt down and with an honest gaze and dignified tone replied.
"Yes, your majesty I will undertake your request."
Hearing the answer, he was expecting, the king and other people present there sighed in relief as an aside, the fact that the young princess' eyes were glued onto Agawa the whole time made it clear that his charm worked on the women of this world as well.
Once the introductions had finished, a huge feast was laid out, and the students were able to enjoy the dishes of a parallel world even Kelly who was sulking right about now could not hold himself back anymore being a Glutton that he is Kelly for once forget about all his troubles and thoroughly enjoyed the food he was served. even going as far as to be the only one in Armenia kingdom history who asked for seconds while dining with the royal family. Though for the most part, it wasn't very different from western food back on earth, there could be some traces of Asian cuisines as well, Kelly was curious as for why that is? but for the most part he didn't mind.
Princess christine spent most of the meal talking with Agawa showing curiosity and enthusiasm at his every word, all the guys looked on with jealousy whereas the girls stared at them worriedly but on the other side Daichi was glaring at the prince for talking so familiarly with Hayashi.
After they finished their meal, Kelly and the others were introduced to the instructors they would be training with in return for being clothed and fed by the palace. Their instructors had been chosen from the ranks of active-duty knights and court magicians. The king probably wanted to strengthen the relationship between the students and his kingdom for the inevitable war to come. Once dinner and introductions were finished, everyone was led to their own individual rooms.
Kelly was certain he wasn't the only one who was dumbstruck by the huge canopy bed he found in his room. The room was so luxurious that he couldn't fully relax in it, and he was bothered by something else.