As Lara hesitantly placed her right hand on the pristine crystal ball, a sudden epiphany struck Asher, his eyes widening for a fleeting moment at the realization.
Wait… if the crystal glows, then what am I supposed to do? Introduce myself? Wouldn't that be… awkward?
His thoughts spiraled, hurdling ahead to a scene he desperately did not want to imagine, every gaze slowly shifting toward him, the silence stretching thin as it became painfully obvious that he was the odd one out.
The sixth wheel. The mistake.
Asher silently cursed his earlier decision of not stepping forward in the second-last place.
Nevertheless, a mahogany light reflected in his eyes, as if something unseen was dancing across an incandescent sky.
He froze, breath held, senses sharpened.
And then it vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, or at least, that was how it felt to him.
Please do your best… and take care of all the troubles, Asher thought quietly as Lara returned to her original position without sparing him so much as a glance.
And then, all at once, the attention shifted.
Every gaze within the vicinity, those of the summoned heroes, Rachael, and even the cloaked figures, fell upon him.
Yet they were not filled with the sharp curiosity he had braced himself for.
Instead, they carried something far stranger.
Confusion, hesitation, and… concern?
Asher found it deeply unsettling.
He had expected venom-laced stares, hushed mockery, perhaps even outright dismissal.
He had prepared himself for that outcome.
In fact, he had already planned to step forward and touch the crystal regardless, to buy himself a few extra moments in case he wasn't some hidden hero after all.
"It was like that after all.Sorry, but… may I ask for your name, please?"
Rachael spoke in a gentle voice, a faint and somewhat strained smile tugging at her lips as she tilted her head slightly.
Asher composed himself, straightening from his usual faint slouch.
He struggled to meet her unexpectedly warm, inviting eyes before replying.
"Well, I am a, uh… Asher."
Rachael's gaze drifted away from him, moving across the others standing nearby.
She remained silent for a brief moment, as if weighing her words carefully, before speaking again, her tone thoughtful.
"It appears that the rest of them are the legitimate ones, the heroes who were meant to be summoned."
Her eyes returned to him.
"And you, Asher, were simply caught up in the hero summoning."
She paused once more, releasing a quiet sigh, one that sounded oddly like relief, before continuing.
"Well then, I suppose an explanation is owed to you most of all, isn't it? Let us proceed accordingly. We will trouble you a little while longer as we explain your current situation… so please, bear with us for now."
After that, all six of them were led into another room, smaller than the hall they had stood in before, yet still spacious enough to breathe comfortably.
It was decorated with gorgeous, unfamiliar interiors.
Polished surfaces, muted colors, and subtle patterns that felt refined without being overwhelming.
A long table occupied the center, surrounded by chairs. Strangely enough, they were not all that different from the ones Asher had seen back in his own world.
His mind, however, was anything but calm.
Questions piled atop one another, clouding his thoughts, most of them revolving around a single point.
The validity of her behavior, and her true intentions.
Based on the impression she had given so far, and his own careful observations, Asher was fairly certain that she did not harbor any overt malice toward him.
Still, he couldn't help but feel that his judgment might be biased.
Warped by the countless novels he had read, where royal families revered heroes as gods, while those who weren't chosen were quietly discarded, or left to fend for themselves in an alien world without even a shred of mercy.
"I know that most of you are feeling anxious and worried," Rachael spoke, her voice steady yet sincere.
"However, I assure you that we, and our kingdom, harbor no ill intentions toward you. Once again, I apologize for the sudden events. I know it is not an easy thing to accept, but… please forgive us."
She bowed deeply, then straightened and gestured toward the table, inviting them to sit.
Asher took a quick glance to his side, subtly checking whether the others intended to take their seats. When no one moved immediately, he exhaled quietly and sat down first.
Someone had to be the initiator, after all.
The others followed suit, taking their seats as well, hesitantly, one after another.
Asher chose the farthest corner of the arrangement, a seat positioned at the extreme left of Rachael.
The remaining five settled beside each other instead, close enough that their shoulders nearly brushed.
Low whispers passed between them.
It was hard to tell whether they had known one another before being summoned, or if they had simply gravitated together the moment they realized Asher was the odd one out.
A quiet, instinctive forming of a pack.
Either way, Rachael did not interrupt their subdued conversation.
Instead, her gaze lingered on Asher for a brief moment, measured and thoughtful, before she finally spoke.
"Excuse me," she said gently. "Once again, allow me to introduce myself."
She straightened, her posture naturally commanding without being oppressive.
"I am Rachael Ardent and...I hold the title of 'Grand Duke' within the Blazarus Kingdom."
"So, as the major premise," she continued, her tone steady, "I shall take an oath under my name that we will not harm any of you at all. Especially, Asher."
At her words, a sudden sense of relief washed over him, loosening something tight in his chest.
Yet it did not come alone. It dragged behind it a far more unsettling sensation, cold and sharp.
Why did she have to specifically include my name?
The thought spiraled through his mind, refusing to settle, but before he could chase it any further, his senses were abruptly overwhelmed.
A sudden aroma flooded the room.
It annihilated everything else in an instant, to the point where even the usually nostalgic scent of dampened wood and rain-soaked air felt faint and distant in comparison.
-----
Cheer me up! Give me powerstones!