"Now then, quench your thirst. I am certain you are still bewildered. For now, simply listen... I will explain."
The Pope, Ishtar, didn't ask for their agreement and simply explained what had happened to this world, especially to their God, Ehit, who brought all of them here. He also explained to them that their world was on a higher plane than theirs, so they had far better power than everyone in this world.
Still, in simple explanations, they were all summoned to fight a demon in the south, as this fight had lasted for centuries, which nearly wiped out all humanity.
"Mighty Lord Ehit called you heroes here to save us from this crisis!"
Ishtar's voice was filled with fervor as if everyone was the chosen one, so they should be grateful despite their safety not being guaranteed and the possibility of dying in this world.
However, they didn't realize all of that, and they were all just bewildered, still thinking it was a prank, when their teacher, Aiko Hatayama, slammed the table with her hands, showing how irresponsible the kingdom and everyone were. "What kind of joke is this?! I have never heard of this type of TV reality show! Do you think you can do whatever you want without permission?! You should know I can charge you with kidnapping!"
"Gosh, you take this seriously, Ai-chan~!"
"Yeah, yeah. But, for a TV show, this is a bit too much..."
"Let's go home right now!"
Yet, no one denied Aiko's wish to go back, since they didn't feel comfortable staying in this place forever.
"Hmm.... that's unfortunate..."
Ishtar didn't seem to feel affected by their anger, as if everything had nothing to do with him, even though he was involved in their summoning. "Perhaps, if you step outside, you will understand."
As everyone asked, Kouki, as usual, asked something like an anime protagonist, trying to confirm whether the world was really another, to which Ishtar laughed, since he could see Kouki seemed to believe his words.
No, Suzuki didn't say anything. He had been silent, trying to maintain a low-key persona, knowing he was still weak. His "Manager" might have helped him collect information of all kinds worldwide, and his body had been optimized. Yet, even so, he knew well that whether it was Ishtar, this kingdom, or even everyone in this world, was nothing but the plaything of God Ehit, the one that was talked about by Ishtar all the time with a deep reverence.
Yet, without a doubt, he was angry, since his life was as good as set up in his original world, but all of a sudden, he was summoned to another world and told to start over.
'What the shit!'
Now, what to do?
While Kouki and Ishtar discussed the beings that lived in this world, which consisted of humans, demons, and beastmen, Suzuki was thinking about his goal in this world.
Kouki... this delusional guy, Suzuki knew that Kouki must be like he was the hero who would challenge the demon king to save everyone, despite this world forcefully summoning them to fight a dangerous battle where his name would be remembered and he would be worshipped.
Nagumo... this guy would become an edgelord determined to seek revenge and also leave this world for the original world.
As for the rest?
They could either follow Kouki or do nothing, as they knew well that the cheats, or in this case, jobs, given to them were the unique mechanism. They just resigned and accepted the status quo.
Yet, once again, this was something Suzuki didn't like, and he didn't like how the kingdom, the church, and everything just summoned them to fight, ignoring how they might die.
His life was already set up, so why should he try to endanger himself?!
What was the point of his hard work when he was told to start over then?!
As he thought about how he had slept only two hours a day, sacrificing his youth and everything just so he could have a proper life, yet all of that vanished in a single moment when he was summoned to another world, his calm face broke, distorted by anger.
"Are you okay?" Shizuku asked softly.
"..."
Suzuki took a deep breath as he patted Shizuku's hand. "I am fine. I will make sure you are okay."
"Thank you."
Shizuku hadn't realized how deep their problem was. "It must be a joke. We can go back later."
"Yeah."
Their voices were quiet, drowned out by everyone's panicked voices as they saw the change in their environment.
What they saw after they left the strange building wasn't the home or a city they were familiar with, but a literal ocean of clouds below them, with jagged, 3,000-meter peaks piercing through like islands. There are no skyscrapers, no smog—just an endless, terrifyingly vast wilderness that proves Japan is gone.
"W-Where is this?!"
"I-Is this real?! Am I not dreaming?!"
"W-We are in another world....?!!"
They might have read this plot in a novel or manga, but when it happened to them in reality, they couldn't remain calm as their legs gave out, realizing they were in another world.
"W-We can go back, right?"
"That's right! Bring us home!"
"I WANT TO GO HOME!"
"Regrettably, that's beyond me." Despite everyone's despair and anger, Ishtar only showed a shallow smile. "Lord Ehit summoned you here. I am afraid that I don't have the power to summon or bring you. And whether you can go home or not, it is on Lord Ehit's whim, so let's do our best to save this world, okay?"
Everyone felt despair, terror, panic, and all types of emotions.
"NO WAY! I WON'T LET YOU LEAD EVERYONE TO FIGHT! NO! IF YOU WANT TO MAKE THEM FIGHT, YOU WILL FIGHT ME FIRST!"
There was no adult between them, so Aiko was prepared to protect everyone with her body despite how petite she was.
"Why did you fight against it? The Lord Ehit has chosen you. You should be proud." Ishtar sighed, feeling confused.
"NO WAY! I AM NOT LETTING YOU USE MY STUDENTS AS SOLDIERS—"
"Wait, Aiko-sensei!"
Kouki suddenly stepped forward, seemingly determined about something.
"Your childhood friend is going to make a mess."
While it was weird that Suzuki could take Shizuku, considering Shizuku was Kouki's childhood friend, when he looked at Kouki's personality and everyday acts, he could only sigh. He knew that Kouki would do something stupid.
"Oh, god..."
Shizuku felt an intense headache, as she knew that Kouki definitely would say something stupid.
Then, as expected!
"I believe that we're all chosen here for some reason! The world is in dire need of help! I can't just ignore everyone! Let me... no, let us fight, Sensei!"
"I know that's what you will say, Kouki. Let me in."
While Shizuku and Suzuki were all in silence, watching Kouki, who somehow made everyone have to fight with his hero-like persona.
"I-I am going to do it! I am going to fight!"
"Count me in!"
"Let me fight, too!!"
"Tanaka-kun..."
Kaori felt an intense panic as she saw that it was like a cult was brainwashing everyone.
"Thanks, everyone. Let's team up to save this world. Then, once we're through, we will go home together!"
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH!!!"
As Kouki cheered alongside everyone, Suzuki tried to recall the plot of Arifureta and the countermeasure. Yet, his gaze kept locking on Ishtar, who showed a gentle, satisfied smile for a moment.
"Ignore him. I will handle this, so let's stay quiet for a while."
"Um." 2x
Whether it was Kaori or Shizuku, they could trust Suzuki; no, when everyone was eager to fight and facing dangers, as they were far from their families, he was the only anchor that calmed them. But Suzuki had a huge problem on his mind: what would his job be?
---
His job is normal.