Otherworlders

Celicia and I are sitting in the living room after we had breakfast that Ms. Clairene made. Ms. Clairene said she wants to try out some new recipes that I taught her from my home world, so we decided to alternate who will be cooking for each day. Ms. Clairene will be cooking on even days, whilst I’ll be cooking for odd days.

According to the old man, there won’t be any practice today since it’s a Saturday and he wants to use the entire day to completely laze off.

“Hey… do you have any clothes?” Celicia randomly asks.

“Hmm… I only have that business suit and these clothes are given by the old man…” I pull my t-shirt’s collar.

“Then let’s buy some new clothes!” Celicia pumps her fist, her eyes beaming in excitement.

It’s true that I don’t have much clothes, and it can be a pain to constantly borrow the old man’s since his t-shirts are way too big for me. Even so…

“Do we have to do it today?” I ask, diving deeper into the sofa, “Tomorrow’s a Sunday anyway, so we should have plenty of time…” I yawned as I sink deep into the cushion.

“No! We’re going now!” Celicia pulls on my shirt, gradually dragging me.

“Hey! Don’t do that!”

“Then stop trying to catch a nap!” Celicia lets go of my shirt.

“Okay… I’ll go—I’ll go….” I scratch my hair and my eyes.

“You got ten minutes.” Celicia stands straight whilst point her index finger towards the ceiling.

“Ehhhh?”

“You’re a boy, right? Shouldn’t take you long.” Celicia put her hands on her hips.

“What about you though? Don’t you need to get ready?” I ask.

“I already bathed, so I just need to change and I’m set.” Celicia explained.

“I see…”

Dang it! For once I was hoping that a woman would take their time to prepare!

“Ten minutes starts now!” Celicia yelled out.

“Haah…?”

“Expect the worst if you’re not ready by then.” Celicia vacantly stares into me, her right hand is opened.

“O-Okay!”

I sprinted off towards the clay workshop.

---

“Hurry, hurry! Their speech will start in thirty minutes!”

“Wait up Linda!”

“Can those Otherworlders really beat the evil dragon?”

“They might be able to! I heard that most Otherworlders have extremely powerful mana output compared to us!”

“Hoho… Then I have no doubts in their skills.”

“But why would they summon Otherworlders to beat the evil dragon? It’s not as if the dragon is making trouble for us…”

“Can you stop worrying about it Ascal? The government must have some sort of reason to summon Otherworlders to beat that dragon.”

“Still though…”

The more we tread through the city, the more people are talking about those people that were summoned to beat the evil dragon. Some stores are even closed all just to see what kind of people they are.

“…”

“You don’t need to worry about it, Yuuma. We’re close, so just follow me.”

“…Okay.”

As we got closer to the clothes shop, there is a stage of sort in the middle of the city, followed with an old person standing at front with four people standing behind his back. Those four people are wearing an assortment of adventurer clothes followed with each of them having different hair colours.

“Attention citizens of Artevir! These four heroes from a different world are called onto this world to fulfil a duty! A duty on slaying the dragon!” The old person spreads his arms.

Everyone in the crowd started cheering and clapping at his antiques.

“This dragon has been plaguing the world for decades, destroying each cities that it come across! Although it may initiate its attacks infrequently, it is undeniable that his wrath has struck fear to the citizens, wondering whether they’ll be next to bite the dust!”

“…”

Gazing past the elderly man, I fix my attention on the quartet of heroes assembled on the stage. In the middle-right position stands a boy who appears younger than myself, his brown hair falling neatly as he wears a scabbard at his hip. With an upright posture and an air of self-assuredness, he offers a confident smile to the onlookers.

To his right, a mage-like figure catches my eye, distinguished by the sizable hat adorning her head and the staff clutched in her hand. Despite her petite frame, her expression is tense. On the boy's left, a girl clad in robust armor stands, greeting the audience with a buoyant wave. Beside her is another girl, shrouded beneath a hood, her bow slung across her back—a quiet yet vigilant presence.

“…”

So, those are the chosen Otherworlders huh… They really do look like characters that came straight out of a video game…

“There’s no way I could compete with that…”

They’re too blinding for me, so I gazed downwards to avoid it. It makes sense why I was thrown away considering the options they had. I don’t want to go on some grand, life-threatening adventure, but I’d rather take that than not being needed.

My right suddenly felt a clasp, as if someone had just taken my hand. I look to my right to notice Celicia standing there, a stern expression painted on her.

“Stick with me, okay?” Celicia tightens her grip on my hand while she knits her forehead.

“O-Okay…”

What is this feeling? It felt as if all those weights were immediately eradicated when I looked at her face and replaced with something else…

“…”

What was it about that face she made? For some reason, seeing her make that kind of expression aches my chest more than seeing those gallant heroes standing tall on top of that pedestal. I wonder…

“…was I ever useful to you…?” I muttered; my voice completely drowned in all the excitement.