I stepped out of the room and began my walk down the long corridor toward the dining hall. Now that I had cleared my head, everything that had happened felt almost surreal.

  Sure, being transported to a completely different world is mind-blowing on its own, but that’s not even the weirdest part. The people here? There’s something… off about them. The king is just some creepy old pervert, at least from what I’ve seen. But I have a feeling he’s after more than just my help in defeating the Demon Lord.

  Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s tied to Sister Sarah—and that’s what really worries me.

  She might be even more depraved than the king—and without a doubt, far more twisted. There’s something calcuted in her every word, like she’s already several steps ahead of me. I can feel it—she’s got pns for me, something brewing behind her eyes—but I can’t quite piece it together. Sure, she’s far more sexually active than you'd ever expect from someone dressed like a nun, but the way she looked at me… it wasn’t just lust. There was something deeper, darker—like she saw straight through me and was quietly deciding how to use what she found.

  Lost in thought, I barely noticed when I stopped before a towering set of double doors. Pushing them open, I was met with the sight of a grand dining hall—its walls adorned with intricate engravings and vibrant stained-gss windows. At the center stood a long rectangur table, and as I approached the near end, my gaze settled on the king. Seated at the far side upon an ornate throne-like chair, he spoke.

  “Ah, young hero! How wonderful it is to finally have you here," he greeted with a warm smile. "Please, join your friends—the feast has only just begun.”

  I made my way toward the empty seat beside Roy, only then realizing none of the nuns were present—including Sister Sarah. There were only two guards behind the king, standing like statues while holding their spears, their faces unreadable beneath their helms.

  My gaze shifted between Richard and Sam seated across from me, they all looked refreshed.

  Roy turned to me and said, “Hey man, are you okay? You look like you just walked out of a fight.”

  Heh, only if you knew Roy.

  “I just couldn't get any rest,” I replied.

  I wasn’t lying—she hadn’t given me a moment to breathe back there.

  “So, if I may have your attention, heroes,” the king said suddenly, his expression turning serious. “Before I send you off on your journey, I believe it’s only right that I expin everything you need to know about our world.”

  We all stopped eating and turned towards him.

  "Our world is divided between two great continents. To the north lies Aekras, the rger ndmass where we now stand, while in the south is the smaller continent of Aisath. Countless isnds—some big enough for nations—cluster around both shores. All these nds are encircled by the vast, unbroken waters of the Midsea, an ocean so immense it has never been fully mapped."

  As the king spoke, a guard stepped forward, unrolling a weathered map and held with his two arms. The map revealed the two continents with some countries drawn on top of them.

  "Behold, the Holy Empire of Odhena," the king decred, his finger on Aekras's center. "Here, we uphold the sacred teachings of Goddess Odhena—and here, we stand as the final bastion against the Demon Lord's legions."

  His hand moved up to the continent's dominant power, a dark nd covering all of north. The inked texture alone made my skin crawl—whatever darkness ruled there needed no name.

  "His armies march relentlessly, leaving a trail of ruined towns and sin innocents in their wake." His brow furrowed with anger. "You are our final hope, heroes. Only you possess the strength to stand against them. But fear not—you will not face this peril alone. Other kingdoms—though their faith is questionable—will lend their aid, alongside the courageous armies of our empire."

  Whoa... this is way bigger than I expected. I didn’t think we’d be caught in a full-scale war against the Demon Lord. I figured we’d just rescue a few vilges, take down some demon generals, and defeat him—all within few months. But seeing the vastness of their territory... this is going to take much longer than I imagined.

  "With respect, Your Majesty," Richard intervened "a force controlling this much nd couldn't have emerged overnight. You're describing decades of systematic conquest." His eyes narrowed. "Which means either you ignored this growing threat... or you've been fighting a losing war long before summoning us."

  Richard's right. Alsoi how are we even supposed to turn a losing war?

  “Your questions are reasonable, young hero.” he said, turning his head to Richard. “So, let me expin how we got into this situation first.”

  He pushed back his throne and rose up from his chair.

  “Until thirty years ago, humans lived in peace with demons. Demons mostly remained in their northern kingdom; however, there were friendly political retions, and in the border vilges, we coexisted harmoniously.”

  This changed my initial understanding of demons. They weren't just evil creatures; they were actually people.

  “I still remember good old days, banging the te Succubus Queen in her own pace.”

  What

  “Ah, but you should’ve seen her, young heroes. She had a perfect, eleven out of ten body,” the king said, gesturing an hourgss figure. “I had my own share of succubus pussy in my youth, but she was just—different.”

  A sad expression appeared on his face, and if he wasn’t a degenerate I’d have feel bad for him.

  “I would suck on her left tit while jiggling the—”

  “Ahem! Forgive me, your majesty, but can we please get back on topic?” I said, already overwhelmed by the conversation.

  The king cleared his throat, closed his eyes for a moment, and continued.

  “Yes, you are right, young hero,” he said apologetically. “But unfortunately, the Succubus Queen was overthrown by her half-human, half-demon son.”

  Huh, you mean your own kid?

  “For the st thirty years, he has grown stronger than anyone could imagine and begun his conquest,” he said, settling back into his chair. “We fought with all our might, but our efforts have been rgely in vain. Each year, he cims more and more of our nds, and until I saw the prophecy in my dream, we had nothing to combat his power.”

  So, this man fathered a child with the demon queen, and now that child is the evil that will destroy the world.

  This definitely isn’t our war.

  “What’s driving this guy to fight humanity after all those years of peace?” Sam asked.

  “There is none.” King coldly replied.

  All of us were shocked.

  “You see, he is the embodiment of all evil because he was born from the union of the demon queen and possible the god king of a kingdom that is definitely not this one.”

  It is definitely this one

  “That’s why even demons are his sves under his rule. He is absolutely ruthless and will stop at nothing to bring this world to an end.”

  The whole room fell silent after the king finished speaking. We now grasped the severity of the quest ahead, but still how could we possibly find the strength to accomplish what he was asking?

  After all, we had just graduated high school and were only eighteen—barely more than kids who hardly knew much about our own world, let alone this one. Could we lead a crusade like this?

  We exchanged gnces, realizing we were in too deep to back down now. We didn't even know if we could return to our own world, and who knew what might happen if we refused—they never gave us a choice to begin with.

  “Do not be discouraged, young heroes, for you will possess something that no one else has,” the king said with a hearty ugh. “You will have the power of the holy saintess, who can heal you and even revive you from death... assuming, of course, that you do die.”

  Wait, seriously? Am I really going to be overpowered after all?

  Sweet

  The king turned her gaze towards me and spoke.

  “You will soon learn all about your future power, but let me emphasize this: you will be the first saintess of this kingdom in five hundred years!” the king excimed. “Saintesses only appear in dire circumstances, called forth by the will of the goddesses to save humanity.”

  That’s actually kind of cool! Sure, I might not be a kickass knight or even a man, but the idea of being a key figure in the fight against evil makes me genuinely happy.

  “We understand the situation now,” Roy said. “But we still don’t feel like the heroes you cim we are. How are we supposed to take on the Demon Lord?”

  “Ah, that’s where your training comes in. It’s true that in your current state, you wouldn’t stand a chance against even a lowly goblin. But with time, you’ll be amazed at how strong you all will become.”

  It made sense, after all we hadn't seen any status windows or heard any voices in our heads guiding us since we arrived in this world.

  “In a few days, your mentors will arrive to guide you in your training. Unfortunately, you will be separated, as each of your journeys will be unique and located far from the castle.” The King scanned our faces, his gaze steady. “So, make the most of the limited time you have together; it may be a while before you see each other again.”

  I hadn’t expected this; I thought we would simply awaken the powers within us. But it seems reality is far more complex than I had imagined.

  Now that I consider it, what would my training even be? I can easily picture my friends learning swordsmanship and magic, but what about my path as the saintess? Would I need to study sacred texts or perhaps even become a nun—hold on a moment, does that mean I have to convert?

  Aah, this is so confusing

  The most logical path seems to be learning from the priests for a while. Would my mentor be a father or perhaps even a pope? Do they even have a pope in this world?

  “Excuse me, your highness,” I raised my hand to pose my question. “Is there a religious leader in your empire?”

  “Ah, a reasonable question coming from the future saintess,” the king replied, his eyes widening. “I am the God King, chosen by the goddess to rule this empire until her second command. So, I am indeed the religious leader here. However, let this be clear, I’m not the same God King from the story I just shared; that’s a different individual altogether.”

  Uh-huh, right

  So, this man would be my leader, mentor, or worse—my master? That st thought sent shivers down my spine. I don't think I could ever accept this perverted old bastard in such a role.

  “Hmm, I see you’re worried about your training,” the king remarked. “It’s understandable—becoming the saintess of a religion so foreign to you must be difficult to fathom. But fear not, young hero! You will know you are ready once you complete your training at the Odhena Monastery!”

  Okay, that is kind of reassuring, so I just have to go with the flow, huh.

  “Now, let us continue with our dinner,” the king decred, gesturing towards the table with open hands.

  After we were finished king cpped his hands, summoning a group of maids who swiftly approached to clean the table. He then csped his hands together and addressed us.

  “If there are no further questions, we can all retire to our rooms, as the evening has grown quite te.”

  We all nodded in agreement, and the king got up with us, making his way to a different door across from the one we had entered, bidding us farewell. We then followed the path back to our rooms together.

  The way back to our rooms was quiet; it seemed everyone had their own thoughts swirling in their minds. When we reached the doors to our rooms, Roy turned to us and spoke.

  “Stay strong, everyone. I know we’ll face many challenges ahead, but we have to fight on. Together, we might even realize our fantasy dreams in this world. Let’s not lose our spirit!”

  “Yeah!” we all said together.

  As always, he was good at keeping our morale high.

  “Especially you, Theo. I know you're facing the toughest challenge among us, but keep your chin up!”

  “And don’t forget to let your homies hit, hahaha!” Sam added, only to receive a swift elbow jab to his abdomen from Richard.

  Yeah, that’s never going to happen.

  After saying each other goodnight, we all retreated to our rooms, and I could finally get my long-waited rest.