After that strange transition, I noticed that there were several people around me whom I certainly didn't recognize.
They consisted of two men and three women?
Judging from their clothing, I guessed that they might have come from a planet before I was dragged here.
After observing them for a moment, I turned my gaze to a group of knights in the distance. I noticed one of them approaching us.
The approaching knight wore armor different from the others. It seemed he was their leader.
When the distance between us was only a few steps, the knight made a strange gesture and greeted us respectfully.
"Oh, The Destined Heroes... Welcome to our world. Forgive our earlier rudeness, but... please, we beg for your help!"
"..."
Heroes? Wait! Why can I understand the language that man is speaking?
I need information! First of all, I'll just observe for now.
After a few moments of silence, someone raised his hand and began asking the knight questions.
The man had a slim build and wore a long-sleeved shirt with a checkered pattern, along with dark blue trousers.
"Excuse me, is this really another world? Am I a hero? Will I defeat the demon king and get beautiful women as my wives?"
The man asked with such enthusiasm that everyone frowned.
Even the knight frowned after hearing his question.
"Ah, before answering that, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Grif De Murte, a knight from one of the human kingdoms, JATUMHEIM."
After introducing himself, Grif continued.
"As for the hero's question just now—yes, this is a different world from the one you came from, and you are The Destined Heroes whose arrival was foretold by the great witch... As for the other questions, I'm sorry, I don't know the details. That's why the king himself will explain it to you. Please, follow us to the capital of Jatumheim. We have prepared transportation to take you there."
After hearing Grif's words, we looked at each other and agreed it would be better to hear directly from the king.
Once we gave our consent, Grif led us toward a luxurious horse-drawn carriage. The carriage bore a flag embroidered with the image of two crossed swords.
According to Grif's explanation, it was the emblem of the Royal Family of Jatumheim.
The emblem symbolized the founder of the Jatumheim Kingdom. Grif said the founder was a dual-sword wielder.
After stepping into the carriage, for some reason I suddenly felt something strange on my skin.
Looking around inside, I was quite surprised that it was more spacious than it appeared from the outside.
Has this world's technology reached the stage of spatial manipulation?
"What's with this carriage? Why does the size feel off?"
An adult man in a suit from our group entered the carriage and said that.
Hearing the suited man's confusion, Grif replied,
"This carriage uses space magic from the royal court's witch for the comfort of the Royal Family."
Hearing the word "magic" from Grif made everyone's expression turn to amazement.
"O-Oh, I see. So magic really exists in this world."
"Really?"
"YAHOO, MAGIC REALLY EXISTS!!"
"....."
Magic? What is that? Is it some kind of spatial technology device? It seems I'm the only one who doesn't understand.
"Excuse me!"
Hearing that snapped me out of my thoughts.
I saw someone who, like me, had been quiet all this time approach and start talking to me.
She looked like she was in her teens, short in stature, with an innocent face and short black hair. She wore plain white clothes with black trousers and black shoes.
Hmm, no matter how I look at it, she's a girl, but why is she wearing men's clothing? Is that the culture of her world?
"What is it?"
"Wooah! That robotic voice effect is so cool! Oh, sorry—my name is Shirakawa Haru. As you can see from my uniform, I'm a student."
With sparkling eyes, the child politely introduced herself.
Since she had introduced herself, I also introduced myself.
"Oh, nice to meet you, Shirakawa Haru. My name is Flitz—you can call me that. Is there something I can help you with?"
"Ah, no, I was just curious about the outfit you're wearing, Flitz-san. Don't you feel hot wearing that helmet all the time?"
It's not hot at all, but she's right—it's not good to keep wearing it nonstop. I began to remove it, of course with my own hands.
I know that the technological gap between me and both this world and theirs is significant. I don't want to raise suspicion.
For now, I'll let them think I'm from the same world.
"Phew, it was a bit warm after all. Thank you for your concern, Shirakawa Haru."
"....."
After I removed my helmet, Haru fell silent and stared at me seriously.
"Hmm? What is it?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing. By the way, Flitz-san, are you a foreigner? Is Flitz your real name? I thought it was just a stage name."
A foreigner, huh... I guess I'll go with that backstory.
"Yes, something like that. As fellow people from another world, let's get along."
I extended my hand to her as a gesture for a handshake.
Damn! That happened suddenly because it's a habit from my planet.
Seeing me extend my hand, Shirakawa Haru grasped it—it seems her planet also has this custom.
"Yes, let's get along."
We shook hands with smiles.
I asked Shirakawa Haru about the strange feeling I'd had since entering the carriage.
"Shirakawa Haru..."
"You can call me Haru."
Since that was her request, I obliged.
"Okay, Haru, do you feel anything strange in your body?"
"Strange? No, not at all. Why do you ask, Fixl-san?"
Hmm, I see... So I'm the only one who feels it?
"No, it's nothing. I was just asking."
"O-okay."
She looked at me with a puzzled expression but didn't ask further. Is she starting to see me as a weirdo? I hope not.
At that moment, the carriage began moving toward the castle Grif had mentioned.
<><><><><>
After several hours traveling through wilderness scenery,
We could see a large city. It was surrounded by high walls several meters tall. In the center stood a tall building with multiple floors—it was likely the castle we were heading to.
At the city gate, carriages and people lined up to enter. Some knight guards seemed to be performing inspections.
Upon seeing our carriage, the knights stopped what they were doing and ran toward us.
One of the gate guards spoke respectfully,
"We have received word that royal guests would be visiting the city. Please, this way."
With that, we were able to enter the city without waiting in line.
Beyond the walls was a bustling scene.
Stalls lined the roadside, people interacted with each other, laughter of joy could be heard everywhere, residents of various races were scattered throughout, and children ran around while their parents scolded them.
Although it wasn't the same, the lively atmosphere reminded me of old memories.
I smiled at the recollection—it had been a long time since I'd seen such a sight.
"Something amusing?"
"Ah, I was just recalling old memories."
"I see."
The one speaking to me was Fujita Kaito, a middle-aged man with a few gray hairs.
He was neatly dressed in a black suit. His face was stern, but his tone was gentle and friendly.
During the journey, the six of us had introduced ourselves to one another.
The blonde woman with big blue eyes was named Agatha.
The mature woman with black hair and gentle eyes was named Kushida Mio.
And then, there was the man across from me...
"Haa~"
"..."
I gave an awkward smile at him.
His name was Renaldi. He was thin, had shoulder-length black hair, and tanned skin.
The way he sighed while looking at me—it all started from my conversation with Haru.
We had talked about my suit, which Haru thought was a costume.
Haru assumed I was someone who wore costumes inspired by anime and games, known as a cosplayer.
After Renaldi overheard our conversation, he joined in.
At first, he was enthusiastic about talking about what they called otaku culture, but after some of my responses, he realized I didn't understand a single thing they were saying.
That was when he started sulking and saying things like, "What kind of cosplayer doesn't know anything about this or that?" or "I thought I'd found a kindred spirit."
And now, he was looking at me like this.
"Haa~."
Hearing Renaldi's frustrated sigh, I could only stay silent.
"..."
Well, I could understand. Things like anime and games were his hobbies, and of course, someone would be happy to meet another with similar interests—but unfortunately, that person wasn't me.
Even though my planet had things like cartoons and games, I was still inexperienced in such matters. Besides, the cartoons and games on their planet were surely different from mine.
Aside from that, based on Haru's comments about Agatha and Renaldi's names, the two of them were foreigners as well—unlike me.
<><><><><>
After passing through streets under the curious gaze of the townsfolk, we finally arrived at the castle gates. I saw Grif dismount from his carriage and gesture for us to get down.
"Please, follow me to the guest room."
After stepping off the carriage, we followed Grif to a certain room.
knock knock
"Pardon me, Your Majesty, the guests have arrived."
"Let them in."
We could hear a deep voice from inside, responding to Grif and telling us to enter.
"I can only escort you this far. The king has been waiting inside—please, go in."
Hearing Grif's words, we looked at each other. With a nod, we opened the door and stepped in.
Inside the room were various furnishings—luxurious sofas and a wooden table intricately carved by a professional.
On one of the sofas sat a muscular elderly man in fine clothing. With that oppressive aura, he must be the king of this kingdom.
Behind him stood two people who seemed to be his guards.
A red-eyed woman with blazing red hair, and a narrow-eyed man with black hair.
Both wore black armor adorned with golden engravings, and each had a sword at their waist.
"As the representative of the people of Jatumheim, I, Cyrus Bel Forgh, welcome you, The Destined Heroes from another world."
The man who introduced himself as the king began his introduction, and after that, he spoke with a regretful expression.
"Forgive me for my selfishness. You must be tired from your journey here, but I wanted to see the faces of The Destined Heroes foretold by prophecy."
To see our faces, huh... Seeing that his guards were fully armed and sensing the strange energy in this room, hmm...
I had gathered some information about magic from Haru during the trip to this city.
Magic was described as a fantastical miracle that usually only existed in fictional stories. However, it seemed that in this world, magic truly existed.
That's why the people of this world could create that enchanted carriage, even though their technology was still underdeveloped.
And with all this preparation, the king must be cautious of us—beings from another world. He wanted to assess whether we were friend or foe.
"No, it's fine, Your Majesty. We understand."
Fujita was the one who responded to King Cyrus's apology on our behalf. It seemed that because he was older than us, he took on the role of our representative.
"Hahaha, that's good to hear. Please, have a seat."
Hearing Fujita's words, Cyrus laughed in relief and invited us to sit.
"You must be wondering why you have come to this world. I will explain everything I know, slowly."