The summoning

"Michi! I'm so proud of you!" a young man in a military uniform shouted, nearly spilling his beer as he set his mug down on the table.
"Shut up, Ayumu. You're already drunk," Michi replied, smiling at his friend.
The four childhood friends had finally found an evening when they could all get together for a drink. Because of their demanding jobs and busy lives, evenings like this had become rare.
"But he's right! You're the youngest minister we've ever had!" Noboru added.
"Glad my computer skills could help with that," Isao laughed.
A few years earlier, Isao had hacked into a Japanese government database and altered Michi's date of birth, allowing him to enter politics before he was legally old enough. Despite being only twenty-five, they all led successful lives thanks to their obsession with their respective fields. Each of them had dreams of their own and was willing to do whatever it took to achieve them.
"Yes, yes. Thank you, Isao. But I'm not the only one with something to celebrate, am I?" Michi asked, taking another sip of his drink.
"That's right! Kurosawa Ayumu! The youngest general and special forces instructor!"
"Sit down, General. You're going to spill your drink." Isao grabbed Ayumu by his military jacket and pulled him back into his chair, before he could draw the bartender's attention.
"By the way, Noboru, have you seen that new anime?" Michi asked, turning to the friend sitting beside him.
Noboru pushed his glasses up and ran a hand through his messy dark hair. It did little to tame the bird's nest on his head, but he was finally able to see his friend clearly.
"And why do you think I have so many monitors in my lab, huh?" Noboru replied with the sort of grin one might expect from a mad scientist.
"Yeah, that was a stupid question," Michi laughed.
"I envy you guys. I don't have a decent internet connection when I'm deployed, so I'm stuck reading manga." Ayumu rested his forehead on the table.
"That's what I call the advantage of mechatronic engineering!" Isao announced, finishing his drink.
Ayumu's head shot up.
"You built yourself a catgirl?!"
"What? No! That's your wet dream, not mine. What I meant was that I only have to work when someone calls me to fix, build, or figure something out!"
"And how often does that happen?" Michi asked.
Isao's expression fell.
"First day off in two months..."
He slipped his hands into the pockets of his brown leather jacket.
"I feel you," Noboru said. "We've started a new project at the lab. Some of us haven't left the place in weeks. But! I'm not some no-name researcher anymore. I'm a team leader now! Which means I have plenty of time to watch anime!"
He laughed, looking rather pleased with himself.
"I envy you. They check our browsing history at the Diet," Michi said. "I almost got fired last time."
"Fired? Man, they caught me watching anime inside a machine I was supposed to be fixing. They nearly fired me, and I almost broke the damn thing trying to climb out."
"Yeah, that sounds like you," Noboru said. "What were you fixing?"
"Some CNC machine. Can't remember what was wrong with it, but I slipped and nearly ripped the door off trying to get out."
The table erupted in laughter.
For once, they could relax and act just like they had in the old days. It was just the four of them, drinking together in a pub like they had countless times before.
None of them had the slightest idea what that next morning would bring.

"My head... Noboru..." Isao groaned, feeling as though someone had hit his head with a hammer.
"Easy, Isao. I took us to Akame. She only had one IV bag of electrolytes for the four of us, but hey, we're alive."
"Still hurts... but at least the room's stopped spinning..."
"Guys..." Michi's voice sounded unusually serious. "I think you're going to want to get up and see this."
One by one, they forced themselves to sit up and open their eyes.
They weren't in a hospital. They weren't even in Japan. At least, that was what the enormous marble hall surrounding them seemed to suggest.
The stone floor beneath them was cold, and the air felt noticeably fresher than anything they were used to back home. A dozen strange figures in robes stood around them, with their faces hidden beneath the hoods of their brown robes.
"Gods be praised! We asked for one hero, and they sent us four!"
A middle-aged man dressed in elaborate red royal robes fell to his knees before them.
"Eh? Noboru, can you explain this?" Michi asked.
His scientist friend merely pushed his glasses up.
"We've been isekai'd!" Ayumu declared.
"We've been what now?!" Isao shouted.
"We've been summoned to another world! Just look around! I knew it! I just... I can feel it!"
Ayumu had apparently sobered up in half a second. The hangover that had left him barely able to sit up moments earlier seemed to have vanished along with his common sense.
"Easy there, soldier. We can't possibly know that yet," Michi replied.
"You!" Ayumu pointed at the man who appeared to be the king. "What's your name?"
The man removed his crown before answering.
"I am King Edric Valcrest of the Kingdom of Dohala. We performed a ritual to summon a hero. We never expected four of you."
"See?!" Ayumu exclaimed.
"I've seen this setup a hundred times..." Noboru muttered, slipping his hands into his pockets.
"Tell me, then. What makes us heroes?" he asked.
"When a hero is summoned, the gods bless them with unimaginable magical power. You see, our kingdom is in a terrible state, and the ancient texts say that a hero can save it. You are our only hope."
"Demons?" Michi asked.
"No... Well..." Edric hesitated, looking somewhat embarrassed. "I'm not sure how to put this, but... we're heavily in debt. And the elves will most likely attack our lands sooner or later."
There was a brief silence.
"Elves?!" Ayumu exclaimed. "What other races do you have here?"
His face lit up at the mention of elves, as if the kingdom's financial crisis were the least interesting part of the conversation.
"Well, there's the Shakan Empire, ruled by elves, which occupies the northeastern part of the continent. The Dwarven Empire of Galia stretches across the mountains in the northwest, while the human-led Dodan Empire controls almost the entire south. We are the Kingdom of Dohala, a multicultural nation located in the eastern part of the continent."
"So... only three races?" Ayumu asked, visibly disappointed.
"Actually, there are many more races. Those three simply make up the largest populations. We have cat-people, fox-people, lizard-people-"
"Cat-people?! You mean there are catgirls?!"
"Well, yes. The cat-people include both males and females-"
Ayumu's maniacal laughter interrupted him.
"The battle's not lost yet!"
He pointed dramatically at one of the robed figures.
"You! Fetch me a catgirl!"
His eyes burned with greed and lust, as if their friend was possessed by a demon.
Noboru smacked him on the back of the head.
The scientist adjusted his glasses and turned toward the same unfortunate man.
"Belay that order! Fetch me an elf!"
Isao immediately jabbed him in the ribs.
"Idiots," he muttered before turning to the king.
"My apologies, Your Majesty. My colleagues didn't mean to insult anyone."
"Don't worry, great hero. You've been brought here from another world. A little confusion is only natural."
While Ayumu and Noboru were busy embarrassing themselves, Isao and Michi took a closer look at their surroundings.
The robed figures appeared to be mages, and the enormous hall resembled some sort of ritual chamber. Four tall marble pillars stood at the corners of the platform on which the friends had awakened.
There were no windows, yet the room was brightly illuminated.
High above them floated a glowing orb, almost like a miniature sun suspended beneath the ceiling. Although it seemed unnatural, they couldn't see any obvious source of power.

Whatever this place was, it certainly wasn't home.
"So, you said you were expecting one hero?" Michi asked.
"Indeed. The ritual has always summoned a single hero. But perhaps our kingdom is in such a desperate state that the gods saw fit to send us four."
Noboru started examining the chamber with considerable interest.
"Do you have any other questions, heroes?" Edric asked.
"Yes. I believe I heard you mention magic. Am I right?"
"Oh, yes. Magic itself is common, but formal training is mostly reserved for the nobility."
"What about soldiers?" Ayumu asked.
"Some soldiers receive magical training, though certainly not all of them. Those who demonstrate magical aptitude are trained separately. Once they become mages, they no longer serve as ordinary infantry."
"So the laws of physics are only a suggestion here?"
Noboru wore the kind of grin that usually meant something dangerous was about to happen.
"Well... if you wish to study magic, I can have someone take you to our library," Edric offered.
"That would be much appreciated." Noboru immediately climbed down from the platform and followed one of the mages toward the exit.
"By the way, I'm Sugawara Noboru. I was one of the most prestigious scientists in our world," he added over his shoulder.
"Right. We haven't introduced ourselves yet," Michi said. "My name is Watanabe Michi, and I was the finance minister back in our country."
"A scholar and a minister!" Edric stared at them in disbelief. "The gods truly have blessed us!"
"General Kurosawa Ayumu. Special forces commander and combat instructor."
"And I'm Matsuoka Isao. I'm an engineer. To put it simply, I'm like Noboru, except I work more with machines and technology."
"Two scholars, a minister, and an elite general..." Edric looked as though he could barely believe his good fortune. "We have truly been blessed!"
"Sorry to interrupt, Your Majesty," Isao said, bowing politely, "but we'd appreciate it if you could show us to our rooms. After we've had some rest, perhaps you could give us a tour of the city? We'd like to see what we're dealing with before we try to help with... those problems of yours."
"Yes, yes, of course! My apologies, heroes. I'll personally escort you to your rooms and give you some time to recover."
Isao, Michi, and Ayumu followed the king out of the ritual chamber.
As they walked through the halls and corridors of the palace, they started wondering about their current situation. What could possibly be so wrong with this kingdom that its ruler had resorted to summoning someone from another world? A kingdom drowning in debt, threatened by foreign powers, and apparently desperate enough to entrust its future to four complete strangers. It certainly wasn't something you heard about every day. And yet, despite all the questions racing through their minds, there was one thought none of them could quite suppress. After years of reading manga and watching anime, their thoroughly corrupted brains had reached the same ridiculous conclusion.
They had been isekai'd!