07 – A Chat in the Dining Hall

I left the bathroom at seven-thirty. I was wearing my blue jacket and black jeans combo and holding on to the Legendary Sword.

I realized that the limitation that demanded a hero to always have physical contact with the Legendary Weapon was troublesome. Previously, when I had fun with Amelia, one of my hands was occupied by it. It should have been easier if I can turn the Legendary Sword into a necklace or bracelet, freeing my occupied hand.

(Can I unlock something like 'Necklace Sword' or 'Bracelet Sword' if I let it absorb that kind of accessory?)

I was deep in thought, ignoring Amelia who was walking ahead of me. She was clad in her maid uniform, looking prim and proper. Yet, she was walking funny; her legs were not steady.

Regardless, of the several assumptions I had in mind, I felt sure that she wanted to carry the baby of a hero—at least, one of the three according to her faith. She was so eager to receive my seed, after all.

Well, I recalled that hero's babies were different from ordinary babies; they were full of potential and would grow up to be attractive and strong adults. I clearly remembered that in the land of Faubrey heroes would be hunted down by women, who wanted to get pregnant with their babies; whereas in Siltvelt and Shieldfreeden, this only happened to the Shield Hero due to their belief.

Putting that aside, we finally arrived at the dining room.

Amelia, who had guided me here, spoke to me, "Sir, we have arrived."

Her voice brought me back from my thoughts. I looked at her and nodded.

I silently nodded at her. She lowered her head as I entered the spacious dining hall. This place reminded me of a certain dining hall from a magical castle in a movie about a bunch of idiotic wizards and witches in my original world. Knights were eating their meals, but I didn't see the other three heroes here—they hadn't woken up yet.

My arrival caught the attention of many knights. I immediately became the center of attention. I could hear their whispers due to [Eavesdropping – Level 10], but I ignored those whisperings.

A servant approached me in a hurry. "Sir Sword Hero, would you like to eat breakfast now?" he asked.

I silently nodded.

"Then, please make yourself comfortable. We will bring your breakfast to your table as soon as possible," he said.

"Thanks," I replied and went to an empty area to enjoy my breakfast in silence. I did not mind the presence of others, but I wasn't in the mood to have a chit chat with strangers.

Soon, some maids brought my breakfast to my table. After the maids served my breakfast, I began enjoying my food in silence.

When I was halfway to finish my breakfast, the knights caused another commotion. I looked up and saw Naofumi and the idiot duo entered the dining hall. They saw me and then walked up here.

"Morning, Ren. You woke up early, eh?" Motoyasu greeted first. He sat beside me.

"Good morning, Ren" was Naofumi's greeting. He sat in front of me across the table.

Itsuki sat beside Naofumi and gave me a nod.

"I slept early last night, so I woke up early," I responded to Motoyasu's chit chat while nodding at Naofumi and Itsuki.

"Man, you missed many things last night, Ren!" Motoyasu exclaimed.

"Is it so?" I raised my brows at him.

He nodded energetically. "Yup. Listen! We discovered that Naofumi, Itsuki, and I came from different versions of Earth!"

I already knew that! I deemed their conversation last night pointless, so I purposely didn't respond when they checked on me.

A servant came to our table to prepare their breakfast. They thanked the servants before starting their breakfast. We also chatted. Despite my bias to Motoyasu and Itsuki, I lost nothing from humoring them.

"So, who is the president of Japan in your world?" asked Motoyasu.

"Miyuki Shirogane."

"Who is the most popular idol in Japan?" asked Itsuki.

"Eimi Fukuda."

"Do you know about this world beforehand? Is it a video game or MMO?" asked Naofumi.

"Yeah. I know about this world from VRMMO, Sword Art Online."

"Man, only I do not know about this world," Naofumi grumbled before realizing something in my answer, "Wait! VRMMO?"

"Like from the sci-fi genre?" Motoyasu also asked.

"Is your world that advanced?" Itsuki stared at me with wide eyes.

"Years ago, in May 2022, a scientist named Kayaba Akihiko completed the first VR device called NerveGear. It was a helm that allowed the wearer to dive into a virtual world. By the way, it is 2030 in my world."

"2030? My world is still in 2018," commented Naofumi.

"Mine is still in 2012," said Itsuki.

"Mine is 2020," said Motoyasu.

We continued to chat despite having finished our breakfast. Due to a bunch of bullshit, I got several skills; [Lying], [Misdirection], and [Acting]. I maxed out their levels; I had a load of Skill Points to spare.

[Lying – Level 10 | As long as your lies are not outrageous, people will believe it]

[Acting – Level 10 | Your feigned act is as if they are natural]

[Misdirection – Level 10 | Giving a misdirection is natural for you]

Around ten o'clock, a maid informed us that the king was waiting for us in the throne room, stopping our talk.

And so, we exited the dining hall and headed to the throne room.

※※※

"The Heroes enter."

The doors to the audience chamber swung open to reveal a group of twelve strangers, all dressed as though they were about to embark on an adventure of their own.

My attention was immediately fixed on the red-haired, green-eyed woman. Even though the other girls were hot, at the level of idol back in my original world, and exotic because they didn't look Caucasian or Asian, the red-haired woman was a league above them. She was so pretty that I couldn't believe someone as pretty as her to exist unless I saw her with my own eyes.

But, I knew who she was. Malty, also known as Myne as an Adventurer, was the troublemaker first princess of Melromarc Queendom. She was also the fragment of the World Eater behind the Wave of Destruction.

At least, the latter was from the web novel version of the Rising of the Shield Hero. I was not certain about what version this world follows.

Our gazes met, and she waved her hand in my direction. I averted my eyes and maintained my indifference.

We all bowed to the king and settled in to listen to his words.

"As we discussed yesterday, I have called for others to assist you in your journey. My call did not go unheeded. Now then, gathered adventurers, please choose the Legendary Hero with whom you will travel," said Aultcray.

After that, everything went according to what I remembered.

The Adventurers were standing in line behind their chosen hero.

I got five burly and thuggish Adventurers.

Motoyasu got a gaggle of girls, including Malty.

By the way, besides Malty, the other three looked like the girls from Anime. There was no Lesty and Elena from the manga and novel.

How interesting...

Itsuki got three Adventurers.

Naofumi, zero as expected.

"But, sir!" Naofumi protested loudly.

Aultcray feigned an unnerved expression and then spoke, "I did not anticipate anything like this."

"He is not very popular, is he?" The Minister sighed as if there is nothing he could do about it.

[Learned: Lie Detection – Level 1]

Oh, I got a useful skill. I maxed out its level immediately.

[Lie Detection – Level 10 | You can detect lies easily, even if the liar believes their own lies]

"What is it?" Motoyasu asked; he had a strange expression.

The official spoke, "It seems that people are whispering around the castle. They are saying that among the four Heroes, the Shield Hero does not know very much about our world."

"What?!" Naofumi exclaimed loudly in disbelief.

Disregarding Naofumi's outburst, the official continued, "The legends say that the four summoned Heroes will have an understanding of our land. People are wondering if you will truly be able to fulfill the conditions set out in the legends."