Unwillingly Summoned: Chapter 12 – Job Interview

For a few, fleeting, glorious moments, James imagined himself standing in a… It wasn’t a river, but it was a healthy stream of gold coins. His balled fists were raised to the sky as he laughed maniacally. That picture didn’t last long. He’d barely had time to enjoy the thought before another image supplanted it. As if conjured by the isekai reality he found himself in, James saw a chibi image of himself uselessly hitting a dragon’s leg with a stick. Chibi James, in what could only have been a sad, desperate act of defiance against a cold and hostile universe, threw the stick at the dragon’s head. The stick naturally bounced off the dragon’s head and accomplished nothing. The image vanished as the dragon casually squished Chibi James under its clawed foot. James felt vaguely betrayed by his own imagination, but the message had been received.

“I don’t know anything about being an adventurer,” said James.

Chrosan sat directly opposite of him at the round table, while Seiran and Sig were to either side. The three traded dubious glances. James could sort of understand it. He’d demonstrated superhuman strength, so it probably sounded like he was trying to downplay his abilities. The problem was that he really didn’t know anything about being an adventurer that hadn’t come out of skimming things that Maggie had given him to read. He damn sure didn’t know anything about using weapons or casting magic, assuming that casting was what they did in this world. He legitimately had nothing to offer them. His conscience nagged at him then. He might actually have useful things to contribute if he looked at all those messages he’d been ignoring or even at his status screen. His reluctance to look at those things stemmed from a sense that opening those up would be like accepting this new reality, rather than just tolerating it because he had no other choice. James knew it was irrational and probably some kind of demented act of self-sabotage but feelings were rarely rational.

“That seems pretty suspect,” Seiran finally offered. “You don’t knock a D-rank warrior class through a wall without knowing some things.”

Maybe she’s the designated blunt one, thought James.

“My situation is—” James hesitated.

He struggled to think of way to describe it that didn’t involve a lot of details. He didn’t want to specifically hide the fact that he was from another world. He just didn’t want all of the very awkward questions he expected would come from that revelation. It would be hard to talk about it without talking about Maggie. Talking about her would probably make him look unreliable and disloyal, regardless of how good his reasons to say no thanks might have been. On the other hand, concealing it now would just make for even more trouble later. It was bound to come out. That secret was just too damn big to hide for any length of time.

“My situation is complicated,” he said.

“Complicated how?” asked Chrosan.

James forced himself to take a deep breath. Just tell them, he ordered himself.

“I’m not from your world.”

Chrosan, Seiran, and Sig exchanged another look before they all burst into laughter.

“Oh ho,” said Sig. “We’ve got another summoned hero here. Man, if I had a bronze coin for every summoned hero I’ve met, I’d be able to retire.”

Seiran shook her head and said, “That’s the oldest con in the book. You seem smart enough. You couldn’t come up with anything better?”

“Well, at least we know he has a sense of humor,” said Chrosan with a chuckle.

One by one their laughter and smiles died as they got a good look at just how serious an expression James wore. There was a very awkward stretch of silence.

“You’re making that up,” declared Seiran.

James snorted and said, “I only wish I was making this nightmare up.”

“If you were really a summoned hero, wouldn’t you be at the palace? Or off somewhere battling the forces of darkness?”

“I was at the palace,” admitted James.

“What happened?” asked Sig.

“I declined their kind offer.”

That drew concerned looks from all three of them.

“What do you mean, you declined?” asked Chrosan, sounding more confused than anything.

“I said, no,” answered James.

It was clear from their expressions that his simple explanation wasn’t going to cut it. Letting an annoyed huff of breath escape his lips, James explained what had happened. He wasn’t generous with the details, but he gave them enough to get a clear picture of how he had ended up at The Verdant Field. Their unhappy looks told James that this was not welcome news or, minimally, they’d heard some things they didn’t like. Well, he thought, it’s not like I’m the one who went asking to join their party. They’ve only got so much room to complain. At the same time, no group would survive excessive friction, regardless of the source. Better to discover it now if this was going to be a dealbreaker for them.

“I don’t understand,” Chrosan said. “Why would you say no?”

“Oh, come on,” said Seiran.

“What?” asked Chrosan. “It’s a legitimate question.”

“It’s a dumb question because you already know the answer. He literally just told us why. Imagine if you were suddenly ripped away from everything you knew and told that it was your job to go fight someone else’s problem. How eager would you be?”

Chrosan managed to look both uncomfortable and embarrassed after the unsubtle dressing down. Even so, he didn’t immediately back down.

“But it’s the king,” he insisted.

Sig, who had largely stayed out of the conversation, finally chimed in with, “Not his king, though.”

“Of course,” said Seiran, “that all presumes that you actually are a summoned hero and not just a good liar.”

James nodded in acknowledgment of the point. All they really had to go on was his word about things, and it was an outlandish claim to make. Even in a world where such things happened, they clearly didn’t happen often. He rolled around ways to back up his claim.

“Alright,” he said. “Ask me anything you want about my old life. Treat it like an interrogation.”

Seiran took to that job with gusto, which made James wonder just what she’d been doing before she joined up with Chrosan. She asked him dozens of questions and even took notes. Occasionally, she’d ask him the same question or a version of a question she’d asked before. He’d broken out into a bit of a sweat before she finally stopped firing questions at him, and all he’d had to do was tell the truth. I’d make a terrible criminal, thought James.

“Well,” she announced, “if he is lying, he’s put an obsessive amount of thought into it.”

“Good liars do that,” observed Sig. “I don’t think he’s lying, though.”

“I don’t either,” said Seiran.

“Thanks, I think,” muttered James.

Chrosan had remained oddly silent throughout the entire Q&A, while even Sig had asked a few questions here and there to get clarification. James looked at him and lifted an eyebrow.

“What is it?” he asked the young man.

“Don’t you feel any responsibility to help?” asked Chrosan.

When Maggie had said something like that to him, there had been an almost pleading quality to it. Like she wanted him to understand where she was coming from and, if not agree, at least acknowledge it. With Chrosan, there was a distinct undercurrent of judgment in the question that made James want to punch the guy again.

“You’re one to talk,” said James.

Chrosan jerked back like James had actually taken a swing at him.

“What are you talking about?” demanded the young man.

“Well, there you sit, looking down on me for not volunteering to battle demons or whatever the king had planned. But what about you? You’ve got strength and power. Why aren’t you at the palace volunteering to go off and fight the forces of darkness? Why aren’t you in the army? Why should I be the only one who has to feel a sense of responsibility you self-righteous little prick?”

“I… That’s… You’re twisting it all up!” Chrosan shouted.

“How?” asked James.

“No one summoned me,” said the youth, although the assertion didn’t have much strength behind it.

“Need I remind you that nobody asked me if I wanted to come here. They just took me. I don’t know how things work in this kingdom, but that’s a crime where I come from. A pretty serious one, too.”

Chrosan looked like he didn’t know what to say. Sig chose that moment to weigh in.

“It’s a crime here, too,” said the big man.

Chrosan shot the man a wounded puppy dog look of betrayal. The big man was unmoved by the expression.

“What?” asked Sig. “You picked this unwinnable fight. Don’t get out sorts with me because it’s not going the way you expected.”

“My point,” said James, “is that, no, I do not feel indebted to my kidnappers. I’m damn sure not interested in risking my life for them. If that’s something you can’t accept, we should part ways now.”

Not finding an ally in Sig, Chrosan turned to Seiran. She just rolled her eyes and shook her head. It was pretty clear to James that Chrosan was certain that he was right about this but the total lack of support seemed to have dulled the edges of that conviction. Before the young man could voice his thoughts, James spoke again.

“Let me be clear about one thing. This is not a topic I intend to rehash over and over again. We put it away forever after this.”

The sour look on Chrosan’s face told James that he’d guessed right. The kid had intended to keep bringing it up which would have been beyond tedious. Looking enormously put upon, the young man nodded.

“Fine,” he said. “I won’t bring it up again. But—”

“Great!” said James. “I’m glad we came to that understanding. We’ll never speak of it again.”

“But—” started Chrosan.

“It’s very important to keep your agreements,” said Seiran looking a little amused.

Chrosan opened his mouth again, but Sig cut him off.

“Indeed. No point in picking fights you can’t win,” said the big man.

“Alright. Alright!” said Chrosan as he threw his hands in the air. “I understand. I won’t bring it up again.”

“Good,” said Seiran. “It’s okay by me if he joins the party.”

“Same,” said Sig.

“Yeah,” agreed a vaguely sullen Chrosan.

“Not to spoil the mood, but there is still the problem of me knowing nothing about adventuring. I don’t even know how to use these,” said James, patting the short swords at his hips.

Seiran blinked a few times and said, “Oh yeah. I did forget about that. Well, it’s probably not an issue.”

James gaped and her and asked, “How is that not an issue?”