A Commonplace Story Of Overpowered Sorcerer

"Excuse me. Have you calmed down, O Great Hero?"

An important-looking old man stepped forward and questioned Rio. His jingling staff attracted the attention of everyone. He was an old man in his seventies, dressed even more lavishly than his peers, with a richly decorated monk's cap that stood about thirty centimeters tall. Old was perhaps not the best word to describe him. If not for his deeply wrinkled face and aged eyes, one might think him a man in his early fifties.

"Ah, yeah, sure. Sorry for causing a scene." Rio apologized awkwardly at the old priest. Inwardly, he was guessing the identity of this old man. He guessed that this old man was Ishtar Langbard, the one who would explain the situation for the summoned class.

While Rio was busy pondering, the old man turned at the summoned students and the teacher. Finally, he opened his mouth and greeted them, "Welcome to Tortus, O Brave Heroes. It is our p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to welcome you here. I am the pope of the Holy Church, Ishtar Langbard. It is an honor to make your acquaintances."

The old man, who called himself Ishtar, broke out into a good-natured smile. Rio had a very subtle reaction, which was missed by everyone when he heard Ishtar's greeting. He had a suspicion about the old man's identity, but he never thought that his suspicion was accurate.

Afterward, Ishtar led the silent group of students into another room that was furnished with numerous chairs and long tables, saying it would be easier to speak calmly there. Rio was tagging along at the back of the group, walking side-by-side with Hajime, who was deep in thought as he followed after the others.

As they walked into their destination, following after Ishtar, Rio was pondering about his second wish. He had asked God to give him unlimited magic energy. However, he couldn't feel the unlimited magic energy inside him and wondered if God had tricked him.

If God tricked him, it would be a big problem for him. After all, this world was very dangerous, and Rio didn't want to face deadly trials and tribulations. He thought that it wasn't worth the trouble and sacrifice.

Rio stopped his silent musings when they arrived at their destination. The new room Ishtar had guided them to was just as lavishly built as the first. The exemplary craftsmanship of the furniture and the tapestries hanging on the walls was evident even to their untrained eyes. The layout of the room implied that it was some manner of a banquet hall.

When it was the time for them to pick their seat, Rio decided to sit next to Hajime. He saw the teacher, Aiko Hatayama, and a group, which consists of two good looking and athletic boys and two very pretty girls all claimed seats at the head of their respective tables, and the rest arranged themselves around them. Rio and Hajime ended up at the very end of their table.

The reason no one had made a fuss so far was that everyone was still too busy processing what had just happened. Though Rio's crazy behavior had attracted their attention, they only thought that Rio was a weirdo and quickly lost interest in him. Besides, Ishtar had stated he would explain what was going on and they latched on his promise desperately.

The moment everyone had finished seating themselves, a number of carts entered the room, pushed along by a retinue of maids. When Rio saw those maids, he gasped in admiration and excitement. It was the first time for him to see an actual maid. In the past, he only saw them from anime or digital media, so it was a very new and novel experience for him. But, Rio soon realized that something was amiss with these maids.

The others maybe didn't realize it because the boys were busy ogling the maids' figures while the girls were glaring scornfully at the boys' shameless behavior, but Rio saw the maids' blank faces and dim eyes that look like that of dolls. These maids looked as if they had lost their will to live. It was disconcerting, Rio thought.

Ishtar finally began talking once everyone had been served their refreshments.

"Now then, I am certain you all must be feeling very confused about the situation you've found yourselves in. I shall explain everything, starting from the beginning. All I ask is that you hear me out until the end." Ishtar's explanation was so generic and unreasonable that it seemed as if it'd come out of a fantasy book template. Well, this world itself is fantasy, Rio mused silently and amusedly.

In short, this was what Ishtar said—

First, that this world was called Tortus. Within Tortus lived three different races: humans, demons, and demi-humans. Humans resided in the northern half of the continent, demons on the southern half, and demi-humans far to the east within a massive forest.

Humans and demons had a strained relationship, having been at war for hundreds of years. Though demons lacked the sheer numbers humans possessed, their individual strength far surpassed that of most humans, balancing out the difference nicely. Both sides were currently locked in a stalemate, and a major battle hadn't broken out in decades. However, there had been disturbing movements among the demons as of late. Namely the fact that they had managed to tame monsters.

Monsters were supposedly wild animals that had undergone a magical metamorphosis after having mana—the term to call magic energy—poured into them. Though it seemed that humans had yet to fully understand the biology of monsters, so they weren't quite sure. They were apparently very powerful and even capable of using magic, which made them an extremely dangerous threat.

Up until that point, very few people had been able to tame such ferocious beasts. And even those who could were unable to handle more than one or two at a time. However, the situation had changed. Which meant that the only advantage the humans had over the demons, numbers, had been eliminated. As such, humans faced an unprecedented crisis that threatened the existence of their very race.

"The one who summoned you all here was the blessed lord, Ehit. He is the guardian deity of us humans, and the one true god of the Holy Church. The supreme ruler who created the world itself. I suspect Lord Ehit grew aware of our plight. He realized that humanity was doomed to annihilation, so he summoned you here in order to prevent such a disaster. You heroes are humans from a world greater than ours, and therefore carry within you strength that surpasses the humans of this world."

Ishtar paused for a moment before continuing hesitantly. "Or at least, that is what was shown to me in a divine revelation. Regardless, I implore you all to do as Lord Ehit has willed you. Please, defeat the demons and save the human race from destruction." He seemed almost in a trance as he said that. He had to have been remembering the time he received that divine revelation.

According to Ishtar, over 90% of humans revered the creator god Ehit, and those who received his divine visions were without exception given high-ranking positions in the Holy Church. As Rio was mulling over how twisted a world must be for people to happily believe in 'the will of God' without question, and how dangerous such a belief was, someone stood up and began hotly protesting Ishtar's words.

"You can't possibly be serious! You're telling these children to go fight in a war!? That's absolutely unacceptable! As a teacher, I cannot allow it! Send us back right this instant! These kids all have families back home who must be worried sick! You can't just kidnap them like this!"