Ryuji took a moment, feeling a little confused that the only person looking at him was a small woman in chains who wore a maid outfit and seemed to belong to the castle.

    ''This woman is rather cute, but why does she have fox ears?''

    The handsome king always seemed to speak louder than needed as the old man with a twirling beard stepped forward.

    "Marduk cast the spell and discovered who the extra person is. The mistake is ours, so let''s accept them."

    "Everyone, my name is Avandar Grigor the Second."

    Seeing a man wearing a dress was strange, but Ryuji learned to accept anyone''s tastes and desires without judging them.

    He walked down the elevated throne with rickety steps. Ryuji wondered if he needed a walking stick or some support but held back as the old man with curled whiskers spread his arms and began speaking in a weird language.

    "Arubelam Nazureth Veridu Revalla!"

    ''Hmmm... isn''t Englis, Italia, or Japonica...''

    When his chanting ended, a vast golden light enveloped the entire class, shimmering like stars sinking from the heavens.

    ... Everyone but Ryuji and the strange fox beside him, that is.

    ''Ah... here we go again.'' He thought, looking at the strange bloody star that split in two. One shard plunged into him while the other half sank into the poor fox.

    "Wow!? I suddenly feel so powerful!" shouted the handsome-looking kid at the centre of the room.

    "Haruki, your whole body is glowing like the Christmas festival!"

    ''The handsome guy with the agile movements is Haruki. I wonder if he plays sports. His movements are smooth.''

    "Erika... don''t make fun of me! I have a strange panel in my eye that says I''m a holy knight. Is this some kind of nerdy game or VR?"

    Ryuji noted the names of what seemed to be the popular classmates who all had cool-sounding jobs.

    Before he could learn the names of any others, the damn old man shouted once again.

    "How can this be!? The star shattered! The last divine star has become a star of disaster!"

    "Oh goddess, Levia, save our realm!"

    "Father... It is my fault. Because I didn''t calculate correctly."

    The king acted pretty cool, shaking his head, choosing not to blame his daughter and soothing his wife with simple movements and gestures.

    ''Old man''s got skills!''

    "Forgive us, Heroes. That red light means we will see a calamity."

    He stood up for the first time, stepping forward to give a brief nod to the class.

    Many people felt scared and probably wanted to go home, but speaking now would be foolish.

    Then he looked at Ryuji and the strange fox beside him. The fox seemed to shiver behind the tall Ryuji, scared of the king''s stern gaze.

    "We do not blame you, nor will we treat you differently to the other heroes. However, I will not lie to you in return. Strangely, it entered her, though."

    "The red star is normally a powerful blessing—however, in the 5000 years, this kingdom has existed. It has only split in half once before. That happened before the demon emperor appeared thousands of years ago."

    Ryuji swallowed, wondering if this meant they would treat him like a criminal or a sinner.

    He felt a moment of weakness before remembering his mother''s words, and he stood tall with both hands behind his lower back.

    In the many novels he read, the kingdom mostly turned out to be the evil guys, but somehow Ryuji felt this was closer to a slice of lifestyle.

    ''Well, they want us to fight, so maybe it''s a dangerous type.''

    "I would like to introduce myself again."

    "Ahem... Ryuji Vincenzo, Rank-C Hero and I am a Level one Berserker! My stars are visible, can you see? Nice to meet you all, and I hope we can work together in the future!"

    The room became silent.

    Ryuji felt he might have failed, but the moment he lifted his head, no longer bowing. He saw the king with a pleasant smile, nodding several times.

    "Good, you are a talent that can help the kingdom and yourself. Do not feel inferior to those with flashier roles despite your class being C ranked. Thus, C-Rank Hero, Ryuji Vincenzo. I will be watching your progress."

    It felt strange to be given such a response.

    ''Well, I''ve always gotten along with older people. It''s normally people my age who misunderstand me...''

    Ryuji felt a little warmth in his chest to know he wasn''t useless, even if it was social pleasantries and small talk. Someone would watch his progress. That was enough for him to try harder.

    ''I wonder how strong that guy''s Holy Knight is...''

    It didn''t take long to get through most of the classroom.

    The Fox was never asked a question and remained quite silent from start to finish. It seemed she was a member of this world.

    ''She seems to dislike the gaze of others focusing on her.''

    Finally, it was the primary group''s turn, but Ryuji only listened to Haruki''s information, wanting to compete with him and become friends one day.

    "Greetings, King. I am Haruki Tanaka, Rank - A Hero and a Level ten Holy Knight."

    His eyes gloated towards Ryuji, who was patting the soft golden hair of the female fox despite the small woman trying to slap his hands away.

    The woman was barely tall enough to reach his chest.

    "My Strength is 15, and my other attributes are 12."

    However, the king and the princess didn''t seem too impressed, but they still smiled towards and congratulated him.

    Ryuji wondered if those were bad attributes for a level ten holy knight.

    Then, as his focus faded, the fox bit his fingers! An intense pain shot through them before she fled the scene after a sharp gaze from the king.

    ****

    The king mentioned that everyone seemed a little tired. Thus, they would continue in the morning as he told them the task he and his people begged for.

    After this, they gave everyone a room. They gave Ryuji an enormous axe and cheap chain mail armour to wear as a C-rank hero.

    He could use the knights'' reserve items, while those of B rank and above used new articles.

    "I wonder why my bed is so big, though... Is it because they liked my introduction? Let''s knock on next door and find out later."

    Ryuji felt the excitement of a class trip—because of his mother and father''s random vacations.

    So, there wasn''t much time for him to join them in the past. Because travelled a lot in his earlier years, leading to a strange mix of introverted and extroverted tendencies.

    "Hmmm?"

    Suddenly, as the torch lights flickered, there was a knock at the dark maple door and bare feet tapping outside.

    ''Who could be knocking at this time? Maybe it''s my neighbour wanting to get to know me,'' Ryuji thought, putting on a thin towel still wet from the bath and opening the door.