Gossip: The Three Heroes

““““““SUMMON HEROES!””””””

Those were words from a light novel my little sister got hooked on recently. I tried reading it myself to kill time, but the contents were trash. It was a story of common students or salarymen getting summoned to another world and gaining cheat-level powers. And they beat the demon lord. And in the process, they gathered a harem.

It made me want to snort and ask, “What the hell is this?!”

But right now, I was — no, we were just called to another world by a similar spell.

It was me, Saitou Kaito, and Oono Kanon and Yoshida Rio, who also go to my school... and some random salaryman.

Kanon, Rio, and I recently became 2nd years and were in the same class, and we got along pretty well. We all went the same direction going home as well, so we would leave school together.

Today was the same.

At the same crosswalk we always passed. Waiting for the light to turn green while chatting with each other. There might have been a salaryman in a suit behind us.

Then suddenly, our surroundings shone brightly......

And next thing we knew, we were here.

“Heroes!” So said a smiling, pretty, blonde-haired blue-eyed girl who was wearing a princess dress straight out of a fairytale. We were standing in the middle of a circular magic formation surrounded by men and women in robes. There were also armored knights standing flush against the walls of the room. It was exactly like the art from the light novel I borrowed from my little sister.

“This is... a hero summoning......?” While I was still surprised and spaced out, the world still turned without me, and things progressed.

We were told that this really was a hero summoning, like I suspected, and that there were supposed to be three of us summoned, but for some reason there were four.

Since there was a need to immediately confirm our statuses, an appraisal was held. So, while I still wasn’t sure what was going on, we were examined by an appraising magic tool.

【Name】 Kaito Saitou

【Age】 17

【Job】 Hero from Another World

【Level】 1

【HP】 800

【MP】 769

【Attack】 772

【Defense】 759

【Agility】 746

【Skills】 Appraisal, Item Box, Holy Sword Arts, Fire magic, Water magic, Earth magic, Wind magic, Light magic, Lightning magic, Ice magic

That was my status from the appraisal.

I was a hero. Kanon and Rio both had similar statuses and were also heroes.

Looking at my status, it somehow really hit home that I was a hero. I made fun of the light novel that I borrowed from my little sister, but in reality, becoming a hero and getting acknowledged as such wasn’t bad. Everyone respectfully called me hero; it kind of felt good. Neither Kanon nor Rio seemed too bothered by it, either.

Only the salaryman’s job was “Victim from Another World.” His status was also significantly lower than ours, and his only skills were Appraisal and Item Box, which were guaranteed to summoned heroes. Since he also had them even though he wasn’t a hero, that meant that the skills were actually given to those summoned from another world.

Not only that, but it looked like he had a unique skill, but it was... “Online Supermarket.”

I was like, “What the heck is that??” We were summoned here to be heroes, so they must have wanted people with strong skills. But his was ‘Online Supermarket,’ I could just die laughing.

At any rate we were able to confirm our statuses, so we went to have an audience with the king. Apparently, we were summoned because the demon king was invading their lands and they were having trouble. And so, they wanted us heroes to somehow save them. It also felt nice to be relied on by the king, who was the highest authority here.

I’m fine with doing it, but what about Kanon and Rio?

“What should we do?” I tried asking the two of them.

“Hmm... well, it’s not like we have anywhere else to go, and if the demon king knows the way back, then I think it’s fine.”

“I agree with Kanon. Also, we have power, don’t we? I want to use that power to help suffering people.”

When the three of us agreed, the king, the queen, the princess, and all the other important people were happy. It made me feel even more like a hero, and raised my spirits.

But apparently the salaryman was different.

“Seeing as how I’m not a hero, I’d only be causing everyone trouble by remaining here. Doing that would riddle me with guilt, so if I could just have enough money to live during the two or three months it would take for me to find employment, I’d like to leave and live on my own.” Or so he said.

But in reality, it might be better that way. With his status, he probably wouldn’t be able to keep up with us. It doesn’t seem like he’d be able to fight like that, after all.

The salaryman took his leave, and Kanon, Rio, and I talked about the future.

“First, you need to get stronger.” Said the knight brigade leader. “So to start off we’ll have you register as adventurers, and do your best to level up.”

Thus, we were introduced to three of the most elite knights of the brigade. But man, I sure was surprised. I mean I’m 180cm tall myself, and my face isn’t bad; I’ve even been told I look like I’m a Johnny’s. Kanon has upward slanting eyes, giving her a headstrong look, but with her strong facial features and long black hair which compliments her body type, she’s a slender beauty. Even Rio’s cute enough to have rumors about her since she looks like a currently popular idol, though she’s a little short.

That’s why I was aware we were pretty good looking and popular, but these three were in another league.

“My name is Leonard Hume. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

Leonard was taller than me, with silky blond hair and green eyes, he was the picture of a princely handsome guy. Rio was staring at Leonard with rapt attention and a red face.

She’s fallen for him, hasn’t she?

“I’m Aaron Palera. Pleased to meet you, heroes.”

Aaron was also taller than me, with fiery red locks and brown eyes; he was handsome in a wild way.

Ah, this bastard just winked at Kanon. But it didn’t look like Kanon hated it.

“My name is Luise Winkler. Heroes, I will be in your care.”

The lone female knight, Luise. Luise was, how should I put it......

I fell for her at first glance. She was just like my beloved and admired Hollywood actresses. Around 165cm in height, she was blonde-haired, blue-eyed, and slim, but with curves in all the right places. Her neatly cut golden hair went down to her shoulders, and her clear blue eyes and smart facial features were just like the Hollywood actresses I saw on the other side of the screen. When I thought of her, right there, within arm’s reach, my heart fluttered.

First we had to register as adventurers, but it was already looking like a fun journey.