Shadow and The Jester
Chapter 01's

Chapter 01: Hero Summoning.

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(POV Souji)

I, who closed my eyes with both hands and of course closed them tightly, slowly began to realize that the people around me were muttering something and with a slight hesitation, I started to open my eyes.

I'm sure I look like a fool right now when I look around.

Then, the first thing my eyes saw was a large wall painting. The wall painting, which roughly stretched ten meters long, depicted a faint smiling figure, whose gender was already female, encompassed by a halo, pervaded by a halo, his golden blonde hair flowed freely behind his back. In the background of this painting are plains, lakes and mountains. The figure also had both arms that stretched out wide, as if trying to grab all of it.

This painting is a pretty beautiful and amazing work of art. But for some reason, I felt cold and my spine slightly shuddered, at the moment the painting started to stare at me.

Of course, by the time I felt that, I immediately quickly shifted my gaze away from the painting.

When I returned to try to check around me, I immediately realized that I was currently in a very spacious room.

In addition, this entire room also seemed to be made of some sort of white stone that glittered and felt very smooth to the touch. The marmel? Might as well. Then, there was also a huge pillar with carvings carved in it rising to the towering ceiling of the dome.

In short, this room really looks like some sort of Great Cathedral.

I, or perhaps more accurately we are, am currently standing on some kind of pedestal located in the deepest recesses of this room. We climbed above our surroundings. Everyone seemed to be looking around them in astonishment, just like me. However, I managed to recover quickly, thanks to my debates with Masu-chan every day.

After all, the girl was really very annoying. But at the same time it looks so cute. So, sometimes I am quite troubled by his behavior, especially considering that he is a Tsundere, bringing everything to an even higher level.

I decided to stop thinking about it. I turned around, trying to see what was behind me.

And as I had expected, Shinomiya-san seemed to still be staring at the surroundings in a daze. But, since I saw he was not injured at all, so I immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

After confirming the safety of Shinomiya-san, I then immediately returned to look around me, only to realize how many people were inside this room.

Apparently, it's not just some students here. However, almost everyone who was previously inside the school building was in this place as well.

The reason why I immediately drew such a conclusion was, because as I said before, besides students, there were also some teachers and staff here, most of them I don't know very well. Even so, my gaze came back to a standstill, the moment I saw that there was someone so familiar with me.

Yes, this is the one who made me experience all the scorn in school and ruined my reputation to its roots.

Yup, of course, that person was none other than Aizawa Saki.

He is the Chairman of the Student Council and the best student in 'Ryuuji Gakuen'. Saki is also one of the most beautiful beauties in school, and she is also often revered as one of the Goddesses in our school.

Yah... I can't deny that either.

Wh why? That was because, this she was a beautiful girl with delicate white skin that looked like a snow. Her long platinum-white hair that flows freely behind her back reaches her hips and looks too, if her hair is tied with a blue-red ribbon on her right side. It also has Aqua-colored almond eyes that look very beautiful and alluring, and have firmness mixed with goodness in it.

This height reached about 172 centimeters, he was arguably a little taller for a girl his age. That thing, combined with her slender body and looking slightly sturdy with a graceful aura emanating out from her, made her look like a princess coming out of a fairy tale land.

However, to me this is nothing more than an annoying bastard who ruined my school life.

By the way, the most interesting and annoying fact is, this girl turned out to be my childhood friend.

Yah... Even though I said all those things, but I actually don't want to deal with him anymore.

After all, what am I wasting my time with trash like him for? It was really a waste of my precious time.

Besides, no matter what is happening right now, I wish that I wouldn't be around him anymore.

By the time I started thinking about such things, Saki seemed to have started to notice my gaze, which of course made me reflexively shift my gaze away from her. I can also see from the corner of my eye, if he seems to start staring at me enough?

Honestly, I don't know why, but six months ago, this girl seemed to be staring at me quite strangely. And that bothers me enough.

However, if I protest like that, it will definitely end with me being the one who is guilty and suspended.

Damn, remembering that incident really made me become a bit upset.

However, before I could think of anything else, I suddenly heard a voice from my right side, which made me a little surprised.

"Welcome to the Kingdom of Groxia, the Brave Heroes. We are happy to welcome you all here. I am the king of this kingdom, Denis SC Groxia. It's an honor to meet you all."

I reflexively turned my gaze towards her, just as the voice began to sound, and the first thing I identified as the owner of this voice was a middle-aged man in his four or fifty years. Because, this person was the only person who dressed so incredibly than the people around him. He was also seen wearing a crown that appeared to be made of real gold on top of his head.

To be honest, a middle-aged man might not be a suitable word to describe this person. Because, he had some wrinkles on his face, which made him look like an old man over the age of about sixty.

Then, the man who called himself Denis, said this with a nice smile on his face, before he led all of us who were still confused to another room equipped with chairs and a long table, where he said it would be easier to talk there.

The new space we were all currently occupying was just as amazing as the previous room. Moreover, the layout of this room also strongly implies that this is a meeting room.

The group from the principal - Ryuuji Asahi - and Saki, who were made up of seven people, claimed seats at their respective desks, respectively, and most of their followers all arranged themselves around them, while I myself ended up sitting in the third seat of the corner near the exit.

By the way, on the left where I am sitting right now is Shirokin Kyouya. He was the only boy I had at this school.

And, inversely with me, Kyouya can be quite popular with girls. Because, not only his face can be quite handsome, but he is also great in sports and in addition, he has good value.

Her hair was black with a slight blond color in some parts (more so on the front), where she is also seen to have bangs that reach her chin and are seen covering one of her jade-colored eyes. His height ranged at 181 centimeters, and although his body looked slender, but people could still see the muscles he had.

This Kyouya can be said to be quite a good person, but quite a loner.

To be honest, even though she often looks like someone who seems energetic and kind-hearted. However, behind all that, he was actually an otaku who had almost reached the level of 'MOE'.

Yup, you guys must be surprised, right? Yah... After all, how could an ikemen-type character like him have such a side? Of course, I don't know.

I mean, I don't know the specifics, the reason why he could be an otaku like that. But, he once told me, that he became very fond of all those things because of the pressure exerted by his family.

Yah... I never brought that up too much anyway. Because everyone has their own privacy. So, forcing her to say it further than that would actually make me look weird.

Let's put this aside first. Because, it seems like some of these things on my right are starting to get really violent.

"Sanada said it, right? That Sanada was the first to get this seat!! So, it's Sanada who will be sitting next to Souji-senpai!!" Shouted a petite girl who had long pink hair and purple almond eyes this furiously. Her hair is also seen tied in a twintail style using a blue-and-white ribbon.

She had a very cute face, and that face would definitely make one want to always protect her. And, the most striking thing about it was the two antennas, or maybe I could call them ahoge? which is above his head.

By the way, the name of this girl is Hiiro Sanada. He was a childhood friend of mine, where he was in 10C class with good grades.

"What the fuck are you saying, Hiiro-chan!! I was the first one with Shimotsuki-kun!! So, I'm the one who will be sitting here!! You go find another seat!!" Denied a beautiful young girl, who was none other than Shinomiya Hina, at the words of the pink-haired girl in an angry tone.

Then, by the time the conversation began to want to become even more heated. Finally someone else, other than these two girls, decided to speak up.

"What the hell are you two doing!? See it? We are all the center of attention! After all, what are you two doing sitting in the chair next to Souji-kun for? Aren't there many other chairs?"

The one who asked in this stern tone was one of the Mathematics Teachers in our school, namely; mikasa Ayano-sensei. He is a teacher who is known to be very scary by students, because the way he uses to educate troubled children can be quite extreme.

Ayano-sensei herself is a woman with a feminine charm that will remind an otaku of the milfs they adore. Moreover, his two heavenly fruits could be said to be very large than average, with his butt and thighs very plump, making him the perfect ingredient for the last boss of a He* story*ntai or Er*oge.

His hair also looks black with a length that reaches the middle between his back and waist. His eyes looked almond-shaped with a dark blue color and emitted a resolute light from within, which sometimes made the person he was looking at intimidated.

Damn, right now I really want to slap myself. Because, how could I describe my own teacher like that? However, let's forget about it for now.

When I started thinking about stopping thinking about this too deeply, a beautiful young girl suddenly appeared, playing around in the chair next to me, which of course makes these three people who are talking silent.

"Fufu~ Who's fast, he's the one who gets it! After all, all of you are too stupid to fight just because of things like this, and leave this place empty. So, I'm the one who won this time." The young girl said so with a triumphant expression on her face, which made the three remaining girls instantly have an exasperated expression on their faces.

However, they all did not reply to him, where the three people just sat on the remaining seats, muttering various things that made me sigh tiredly.

"Curtain! Because of that idiot Shinomiya-senpai, Sanada lost the opportunity to sit next to Souji-senpai." Sanada grumbled with a tone filled with hatred, while sitting on the chair that was in front of Kyouya.

"Damn it, Miyouji again did an annoying thing. After all, isn't he the one cheating here?" Shinomiya-san continued to say such things in an irritated tone, while sitting in front of me.

Ayano-sensei himself did not say anything, and each of them just sat down next to Shinomiya-san.

I really couldn't help myself from breathing out tired. Because, at the time when all those things were happening, there was hardly anyone who did not look at me hatefully, especially the male students and teachers who were here.

Honestly speaking, these hateful gazes from them did not have any influence for me. But still, being stared at like that by nearly five hundred people was truly an unpleasant experience altogether.

"I'm sorry about you, Souji-san. Because, you have to face something like this every day."

I who heard the sudden words from Kyouya immediately denied it.

"It's okay. I'm used to this."

Kyouya who heard my answer, just nodded her head lightly, and said nothing more. However, he still looked a little worried, but I guess he didn't think too much about it either, after I said I was fine.

Looking slightly to the right, I immediately saw a young girl with a pretty and cute charm that was almost as big. The hair of this girl is red with a length that reaches her waist and is tied in a sideways ponytail style to the left using a dark black-and-blue ribbon. Also, the eyes of this girl are almond shaped with red color and have fun in it.

The girl's name is Miyouji Nagisa. He is a famous idol who is on the rise, and can also be said to be a very famous celebrity. Moreover, not only was she beautiful, but she also had a cheerful, kind-hearted nature and concern for the people who were nearby, she said, making its popularity can increase very rapidly in a fairly short time.

By the way, it looks like we were the only ones who made a fuss here. Because, almost everyone in this place was very calm.

The reason for this calmness of all these people was, because they were all still too busy to process what had just happened.

Yah... All right, let's forget about it for now. Because, this person who called himself king began to look like he wanted to start the explanation he had.

However, inversely proportional to my thinking, this king said nothing and just raised his hand, as if beckoning, before a number of trolleys entered the room, and this trolley was pushed by a group of maids.

In addition, they are all genuine maids! Not like the fake maids that you can find in certain electronic holy lands, as well as old and fat maids that can still be found in various European countries.

So, in short it is, these are genuine maids, the kind that every man dreams of!

Ahem! For anyone who is there. Do you all know? In fact, in this incomprehensible situation, the curiosity and lust of most men, especially those, teenage boys, are insatiable, making most of the men look at these beautiful maids, with quite a stare.... disgusting? I don't know.

And keep in mind, too, that I am not among those people. Because, the thigh belongs to Masu-chan mas-ahem! My point is, because I am a man who will not fall easily into the beauty of these maids.

Yeah, that's absolutely right. That's all, no other purpose or explanation.

Ahem! By the way, by the time the girls saw how the men were melting on top of these maids, they were, they started glaring at the men in a way that was cold enough to freeze the abyss itself.

Even so, for some reason, Shinomiya-san, Ayano-sensei, Sanada and Nagisa started to stare at me with beaming smiles, which were inversely proportional to their threatening gazes, and to be honest, the truth is, these gazes of theirs really scared the maid who was pouring me a drink.

By the time that happened, I could only smile wryly internally, and I decided to apologize to this maid later.

Finally, King Denis began to speak, once everyone had served their drinks.

"Now, I'm sure you all must be very confused by the situation you're in, right? Therefore, I will explain everything, starting from the beginning, all I ask is that you listen to me to the end."

Having said that, King Denis then began his explanation, and this explanation given by him was really very common and absurd at all, it sounds like something out of a fantasy book.

In short it was, this is what he said First –, he told us all that This world was named Hopheilig.

Within the Hopheilig itself lived a wide variety of different races, and in the beginning, the races were categorized into two broad categories, namely; the Humanoid and the Demi-Human. However, after the rampage of a Goddess named Verly. The categories of these races grew into five different broad categories, namely; Humanoid, Demi-Human, Demonoid, Mustan and Mostan.

Then, the explanation of each of these is as follows;

Humanoid; An easy example for this Humanoid-type creature is Human and Elf. Then, creatures in this category of Humanoid usually live in the Western part of this Continent. However, there were not many beings in this category who built their own kingdoms in the other parts of the Continent.

Demi-Human; an easy example for this type of creature would be the Beastmen and Dragons. Then, these creatures in the Demi-Human category usually lived in the Southern regions of this Continent. However, not many creatures in this category live in other areas. Like that example, the Dragons who built their Country in the mountains of the Northern part of this Continent.

Demonoid; This is a new race created from the former miasma left behind by Goddess Verly after her rampage. Then, an easy example of this type of creature was the Demon Lords. I don't really understand this part. However, they are said to live in the Northern and Eastern parts of the Continent. Even so, there was still no definitive answer from the place where they actually lived.

Mustan; This is in short a race in the Humanoid and Demi-Human categories polluted by the miasma of the Goddess Verly.

Mostan; this in short was a kind of monster that mutated due to the miasma of Goddess Verly and gained their own intelligence.

This person also told the story of several eras in the past, from what was known as the Era of Destruction, the Era of Salvation and lastly the Early Era of Sounding Demon Lord.

Then, he also explained about the current era known as the Era of Peace. Although he also said that the peace in this era could collapse at any time. Because, the remnants of the monsters created from the miasma of Goddess Verly, in short, the Demon Lords, this still haunted various races, especially the Human race. Because, humans are the weakest race among the other races. However, it is one of the races that has the largest population rate in this World.

Then, lately as well, it was said that these Demon Lords started to attack again. However, the places they attacked were mostly settlements of the Human race, and it caused humans to plunge back into a crisis they had not felt for a long time and threatened the existence of the Human race.

"The one who called all of you here is the blessed Goddess, Aurora. She is our patron Goddess of the Humans, and the only true God of the Aurchi Church. The supreme ruler who created the World itself."

"I suspect Lady Aurora is aware of our situation. He realized that the Human race was destined to be annihilated, so he called all of you here to prevent such a disaster."

"You Heroes are human beings from a World greater than us, and therefore, you must carry a power within you that surpasses the Human in this World. What's more, 72 of you."

Denis paused for a moment, before someone next to him continued hesitantly; "Or at least, that is what was shown to me in the divine revelation I received."

Honestly speaking, this person did not fit into that scene. Because, everything from the beginning of this explanation was already very, very perfect. But still, his head was his head.

Shit, just try it if the head of this guy isn't bald like that. What's more, he doesn't have the slightest bit of hair on his head, and it really ruins the whole melancholy speech of this King Denis.

Huh... Sigh! I'm so sorry for your game that's been destroyed by this bald man, King Denis.

After all, I should also thank this bald fellow. Because he was talking, so I could tell the reason why I felt like there was something wrong with this guy's story.

As I was thinking about those things, King Denis then resumed his words; "After all, please all of you to do what Lady Aurora wants you to do. Please, defeat the seventy-two Demon Lords and save mankind from destruction." He seemed annoyed at the time of saying that. That person must be currently remembering about the bald man who told him about his revelation, or something like that.

By the way, according to King Denis as well, more than 75% of the humans in this World honor the Goddess of Creation - Aurora, and those who receive divine visions like this bald one, he said, without any exceptions, it would soon be given a high-ranking position within the Aurchi Church.

At this moment, I believe the majority of the people here must be thinking this way; 'How can it twist a World for people to believe in the "Will of Gods" gladly without any question, and how dangerous such a belief can be.' It must be things like that that that are inside their heads all at the moment.

Yah... If not, we'd be approaching that.

Then, someone stood up and began to protest the words of King Denis angrily.

This person, of course, is Ryuuji-sensei.

"You can't be serious about what you say, can you!? You're telling these kids to fight in a war? That is totally unacceptable! As a teacher, even more so as the principal of Ryuuji Gakuen, I cannot allow it! Please send us back as soon as possible! All these children have families at home who are definitely worried about them!! You cannot just kidnap them like this!!"

Each of these words of his was truly dripping with a very clear anger.

Ryuuji-sensei, the eighty-first principal of Ryuuji Gakuen, as well as the history teacher, was in his mid-twenties, greatly respected by everyone in the school.

It reached 178 centimeters in height, with its extremely beautiful face, dazzling beautiful sapphire blue eyes and its neatly cut black hair. His adult appearance is very charming and can be fairly elegant, then his tendency to help everyone in school without distinguishing both teachers, staff and students (except me), it has made him very respected. As a result of all that, there was hardly anyone who disrespected him in school (Excluding me).

Even so, to me this Ryuuji-sensei only looks like a very pitiful little girl. But, I still have enough, yahh... A bit of praise for his decisive attitude, and how he would act in this kind of situation, I can already guess.

After all, even though he often looked resolute and authoritative. However, his emotions and personality are very different from that, which makes his behavior often very easy for me to read.

This time too, I can already guess, about him who would scold King Denis for protesting this senseless forced summoning.

Although for others it may be that his behavior makes them respect him. Unfortunately for me, it was the opposite. Because of that, I don't want to comment too much on it.

By the way, the reason why I guessed this, and the reason why I saw Ryuuji-sensei like a very sad little girl can be said the same. But, I don't want to continue my thinking any further, because it's quite annoying for me.

Then, the next words of King Denis froze the blood of all of us.

"Anyway, I understand your feelings... But unfortunately it is, I cannot return you to your current world."

Silence filled this room. An extremely oppressive atmosphere could be seen to be felt by everyone present in this place. We all stared blankly at King Denis, unable to properly process what he had just said.

"What do you mean.. can't?! If you call us here, you should be able to send us back, right?" Ryuuji-sensei shouted loudly with anger submerged in his voice.

However, the answer from King Denis is still the same as before.

"As I said earlier, it was Lady Aurora who called all of you here. The only reason why we were in the room was to greet the Heroes, and to offer our prayers to Lady Aurora. We Humans do not have the power to disturb the other World, so whether you can return also depends on his will."

"N-can't be..."

Ryuuji-sensei immediately slumped back into his seat, after he heard the reply from King Denis. Meanwhile, the teachers, staff and other students began to shout as the truth of the words from King Denis came in.

"You must be kidding, right? What do you mean we can't go back?!"

"You can't do this! Please send us back!"

"War?! You can't be serious! Bring us back now!!"

"WHERE'S MY PANTSU!?"

"This can't happen, this can't happen, this can't happen..."

The whole school was in a panic. I'm also a little shaken by this development, but since I can also be said to be an otaku, at least I've seen a lot of books and games that have the same reason for this. Because of that, I can say that this is not the worst case scenario, and also, that is the reason why at least I can be calmer than the others.

For reference, the worst thing I could imagine was that we were called slaves.

While everyone fell into a state of panic, on the other hand, King Denis said nothing and simply observed us in silence. Although this person seemed to be silent, I could still see the look of disdain hidden within the old man's eyes. I am currently very sure, if he must be thinking like this 'These people were chosen by the Gods, why don't they rejoice?' Or something along that path.

After staring at me for a while, Saki then turned her gaze towards Denis and said; "Then, introduce, my name is Aizawa Saki. You said before that we had to fight, right? However, we have all never fought at all before. So, how can we defeat those Demon Lords?" Saki asked that very seriously.

To be honest, I was quite surprised by the development of Saki's words.

After all, isn't he worried that we can't all go back? Even so, I decided not to think about it too far, because I also did not intend to linger too long in this place.

While I was thinking about it, everyone in this room immediately calmed down, after they heard the words from Saki, while King Denis himself, was, he just nodded his head understandingly at the question.

"You all don't have to worry about it. Because, every summoned Hero must have gained a powerful Skill and Job Class. Archbishop Charles, please explain more about the details."

"Okay, Your Majesty."

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Author Note:

In this chapter also the other MC still does not appear, and there is only a little change, but calm, in chapter two will be shown this other MC, while in the third chapter there will be a considerable change in the story, havei just stay okay?

And, again, for those of you who want to help the author, you can treat the author's tracheer account whose link is in IG author @Panagakos_Void.

That's what the author wants to say, see you in the next chapter! Adios~!