"Alice… are these three the heroes that have been summoned?" (King)
"Yes, Your Majesty. All three of them are the summoned heroes." (Princess Alice)
"Is that so, then? Hmnn… three, is it? Very well, how about we begin by introducing ourselves first.
Heroes, welcome to the Kingdom of Kriesvikki. I am the current king who governs this kingdom at present. My name is Esvobus Rasse, also known as King Esvobus." (King)
After the king introduced himself, the surrounding people, including the knights and the people lined up at the sides, all began clapping. Seeing Princess Alice also clapping her hands, the three of us at the center followed along and clapped as well.
"Heroes, you may now introduce yourselves. How about we begin with the young lady first?" (King)
When the king mentioned "young lady," Erika showed a shocked reaction for a moment before she nervously introduced herself.
"What? M–me? First?" (Erika)
Erika then took a small breath before speaking.
"Okay… hrmnn… My name is Chiba Erika. A first-year high school student. I am 16 years old. I come from Tokyo, Japan." (Erika)
After her introduction, Erika glanced toward Akihiko beside her.
"My turn then… uhum… My name is Futatsugi Akihiko. I am also a first-year high school student. The same as Chiba-san, I also come from Tokyo, Japan." (Akihiko)
Finishing his introduction, Akihiko let out a visible sigh of relief. His whole expression screamed that he was glad it was over.
"Ahem… My name is Nasrul. I am a second-year university student, 21 years old. I came from Malaysia." (Nasrul)
While introducing myself, my eyes darted toward the people surrounding the king, trying to read the subtle expressions they showed. I needed to know whether any of them would try something that could stab me in the back later.
Then, moving my line of sight to the two people positioned slightly behind the king and queen, I noticed the expressions they gave me. The one closest to the king looked at me with a clear gaze of disdain, while the other one examined me as if trying to determine my character.
The one who gave me that disdainful look shifted his gaze to Erika afterward, staring at her like prey.
Seeing that, I immediately judged that the one near the king must be garbage. Someone who needed to be erased. I must take countermeasures and kill him in the most cruel and excruciating method possible. Breaking that bastard's mind along the way might be a good hobby.
"Heroes Chiba and Futatsugi, forgive me if I am mistaken. We do not know much about your world, but… did the two of you come from the same country?" (King)
Hearing our introductions, the king looked bewildered for a moment, as if hearing multiple country names confused him. Although unsure, he decided to ask to confirm his suspicion.
"Yes, Your Majesty. As you said, both of us come from the same country. While Nasrul comes from a different country." (Akihiko)
Hearing Akihiko's answer, the king nodded to himself, then made a serious expression as he began to speak about the problem he suspected.
"I am sorry to say this, Heroes. The issue is that usually only one person is summoned into this world. But this time… there are three of you." (King)
"Is there a problem with there being three of us?" (Akihiko)
"No, no. There is no problem with the three of you being summoned. In fact, one could even say we are lucky to have three heroes protecting us. There may be some irregularity, but I believe having three heroes will not cause any issues." (King)
Looking at the three of us, the king concluded that we must truly be the summoned heroes. According to past records, any summoned hero would possess abilities far beyond normal people. Since three were here, he likely thought he could make use of all of us more efficiently.
"I apologize if this feels rushed, but we must determine whether all of you are indeed heroes. So we need to run a test using a magic tool to determine your affinities." (King)
"Well, I don't mind. How about you two?" (Nasrul)
"No problem." (Erika)
"Okay." (Akihiko)
When the king proposed the affinity test using a magic tool, I judged that we should accept it. Since this world had magic, knowing our affinities would be a good starting point. This way, we wouldn't need to blindly experiment with every type of magic that existed.
With the knowledge I had, I understood that magic could easily become vital to my safety—whether to protect myself or to escape danger. The type of magic I could use might determine whether I lived or died.
Although I didn't know what types of magic existed here, the basic concept shouldn't be too different from what I imagined. After all, if the natural laws of this world were drastically different, I wouldn't even be able to breathe the air. Since I could breathe normally, there must be oxygen here.
The differences must be in the additional components in the air that don't exist on Earth.
It made me wonder how exactly it all worked.
After hearing our responses, the king called the person beside him to bring the tool for determining our magic affinities.
Within a minute, a man wearing a white robe walked out from the back, carrying a spherical crystal. His assistant followed behind, bringing a small table that was likely meant to support the sphere. The king explained that the sphere-shaped crystal was the tool used in this kingdom to determine one's affinity.
Judging by how quickly they brought it here, it must have already been prepared and stored nearby. There was probably a room right behind the throne.
After placing the table between the king and the heroes, the robed man stepped forward and explained the affinity-detection tool.
"This tool uses the mana inside the body. It detects the type of elemental attribute within the user, and the tool reacts differently depending on the element. Each element is represented by a color that appears inside the orb. For example: red for fire affinity, blue for water, brown for earth, green for wind, and yellow for lightning. These five are the basic affinities. At the very least, a person will have one of these. There are also two rare affinities—light and dark. Light appears as white, while darkness appears as black." (Robe Man)
"You mean there are seven elements overall?" (Akihiko)
"No, not only these seven. There are many more minor affinities beyond them. But these seven can be considered the major ones." (Robe Man)
"So how do we do it? By placing our palm on the… orb?" (Erika)
"Yes. You only need to place your palm on the orb." (Robe Man)
After that, the three of us took turns measuring our affinities. One by one, Akihiko, Erika, and I placed our palms on the orb, while the robed man examined it closely to interpret the results.
After all three tests were completed, the hall erupted into loud murmurs.
Among the three of us, someone had an extremely high affinity for light, one of the rarest elements.
That person was Akihiko.
The moment it was known, the nobles surrounding us talked excitedly. Many of them immediately labeled Akihiko as the "true hero."
But the attention didn't stop there.
Another person also drew their focus.
Specifically, someone whose affinity for darkness was the highest ever recorded in the history of the kingdom.
That person… was me, Nasrul.
Unlike the reaction to Akihiko, when the people learned that I possessed the highest darkness affinity, the hall fell silent. Their expressions stiffened with unease.
Darkness magic was heavily associated with demons and dark magicians. Naturally, fear spread throughout the room, creating a tense atmosphere.
After the affinity tests, the king spoke a little about what would happen next and the type of help they needed from us. He also introduced his sons—the first prince standing beside him, named Roman, and the second prince standing near the queen, named Ramiel.
When the talk ended, the people were dismissed, and we were guided to our chambers.
Although most people were wary of me, there were four individuals who looked at me with genuine interest rather than fear. Unlike the others, they were astonished not by my darkness affinity but by the other affinities I possessed.
Those four people were the King, the robed man, Prince Ramiel, and Princess Alice.
=================
Futatsugi Akihiko
Element Affinity
Fire Normal
Water Low
Earth Normal
Wind -
Lightning Low
Light High
Darkness -
=================
Chiba Erika
Element Affinity
Fire Low
Water High
Earth Low
Wind High
Lightning -
Light Low
Darkness -
=================
Nasrul Amal
Element Affinity
Fire Normal
Water Normal
Earth Normal
Wind Normal
Lightning Normal
Light Normal
Darkness High
=================