Chapter 106: My Answer Is...

Belis stopped taking down his notes. The priests standing along the marble pillars stared in shock. Even Lord Justin, who was still slumped on the floor in his ruined armor, looked up with wide eyes.

Goddess Viona leaned back into her white velvet cushions, looking down at the two students. Her golden eyes held a mixture of desperate anger and sudden authority. To her, this was the ultimate solution. If John Smith was an enemy from their world, then using the other summoned students from that same world was the natural countermove.

Miyuki took a step back, her boots clicking softly against the marble floor. Her face had turned entirely pale.

Ayanokoji did not step back. He stood right where he was, his hands remaining in his pockets, his brown eyes flat and motionless.

"No," Ayanokoji said.

The word was short, quiet, and completely calm.

Yet, inside the grand hall, it sounded louder than a thunderclap.

Belis gasped, clutching his chest. "Hero Ayanokoji! How dare you speak to Her Divinity in such a manner?!"

Viona blinked, clearly stunned. She sat up straight, her eyebrows pulling together in disbelief. She looked as though she had just heard an impossible sound.

"What did you say?" Viona asked, her voice dropping into a dangerous, low rumble. "Did I mishear you, mortal?"

"You heard me correctly, Lady Viona," Ayanokoji replied without the slightest hint of fear. "I refuse. I will not fight in your war against John Smith, and neither will the other heroes."

Miyuki’s chest heaved. She looked at Viona, her hands trembling so badly she had to grip her healing staff with both hands to keep it steady.

"I... I refuse as well, Lady Viona," Miyuki whispered, her voice shaking but clear enough for the entire hall to hear. "I cannot do it. I will not fight."

Viona stood up from her throne. Golden divine light flared around her shoulders, sending a hot wave of pressure washing across the carpet.

"You refuse?!" Viona raised her voice, her regal face twisting into pure disgust. "You dare stand in my holy palace and reject an order from the goddess who gave you life in this world?! I summoned you! I granted you divine classes, holy weapons, and blessed skills! You belong to the Holy Solarian Empire!"

"That is where you are mistaken," Ayanokoji said, his voice cutting through her divine pressure like a blade through water. "We do not belong to you, and we certainly do not belong to this empire."

"Insolence!" a high priest yelled from the side, raising his silver holy symbol. "Blasphemy! Guards, strike this boy down!"

"Silence!" Viona snapped at the priest, waving her hand sharply to shut him up.

She walked down the marble steps, stopping just five paces away from Ayanokoji. Her golden robes fluttered, and her divine eyes burned with intense anger.

"Explain yourself, boy," Viona demanded, glaring into his blank eyes. "Before I decide to strip your blessing and throw you into a dungeon just like I did to that anomaly!"

Ayanokoji didn’t blink. He didn’t even shift his weight.

"The reason is very simple," Ayanokoji said. "It is a matter of the original agreement. Seven months ago, when you summoned forty high school students into the grand cathedral, you gave us a specific decree. You told us that the Demon Lord in the northern wastes was threatening this world. You told us that our divine mandate was to defeat the Demon Lord, take his heart to the holy altar, and use that magic formula to return home to Earth."

He paused, letting his words settle in the minds of the listening priests.

"That was the contract," Ayanokoji continued smoothly. "You summoned us to kill a fantasy monster in exchange for our return home. You did not summon us to be soldiers in your territorial wars. You did not summon us to be the imperial army’s personal defense force against outside nations."

"The empire is under attack!" Belis argued, stepping forward with his hands raised. "John Smith declared war on Her Divinity! If the empire falls, how do you expect to fulfill your mandate?! This is a crisis of survival!"

"This crisis was created entirely by your empire," Ayanokoji answered, glancing sideways at the Prime Minister. "John Smith did not cross the sea to attack you unprovoked. Your holy expeditionary fleet shores, burned villages, and captured the native beastkin as slaves. John Smith, morally speaking, is from our world and kind of loathes those actions and responds. You suffered a catastrophic defeat, and now modern military retribution has arrived at your doorstep."

He looked back at Viona.

"You told us earlier today that managing foreign affairs and fighting outside kingdoms was the sole duty of your paladins, your inquisitors, and your grand fleets," Ayanokoji pointed out in a steady tone. "You specifically stated that risking summoned heroes in a mundane naval campaign was a foolish waste of assets. Now, because your fleet was crippled and your dragon knights were wiped out, you suddenly want to change the terms of our summoning."

Viona’s jaw clenched tightly. Her knuckles turned white inside her silk sleeves.

"The situation changed!" Viona hissed. "John Smith is not an ordinary mortal king! He is a summoned soul from your world! He is using strange iron sorcery, flying metal birds, and underwater curses! You and Miyuki possess the knowledge of how those weapons operate! You know their tactics, their weaknesses, and how their commanders think! With your knowledge and the combined strength of the thirty-seven heroes, the empire can build traps, ambush their landing craft, and win this war!"

"Knowing what a weapon is does not mean we know how to stop it," Ayanokoji stated plainly. "And even if we could help your generals, I have no reason to participate. My objective is to return to Japan. The only confirmed method to achieve that goal is the Demon Lord’s heart. Fighting an American expeditionary force does not advance my objective in the slightest. In fact, it actively endangers it."

Viona leaned in close, her eyes narrowing until they were like slits of molten gold.

"You think you have a choice, Ayanokoji?" Viona whispered dangerously. "I am a deity. If I command you to march and lay ambushes for the Americans, you must obey. Otherwise, I will revoke your hero status, lock you in iron chains, and ensure you never see your precious homeland again!"

Ayanokoji met her glare without moving an inch. His expression remained completely dead, devoid of fear, anger, or respect.

"If you do that," Ayanokoji said quietly, "you will ensure your own destruction."

The entire room seemed to freeze at those words.

"What did you say?" Viona breathed, genuinely shocked.

"Think logically, Lady Viona," Ayanokoji explained, his tone completely analytical. "Right now, your empire is facing a modern military power with total air superiority and unmatched naval firepower. Your fleet cannot leave Port Solis without sinking. Your knights cannot take to the sky without being shot down from twenty miles away. Your coastal fortresses are completely vulnerable."

He took one step forward, looking directly down at the goddess.

"If you force thirty-seven Japanese teenagers to fight against an American military force, what do you think will happen? Do you think they will fight loyally for an empire that dragged them from their homes against their will? Or do you think the moment they reach the front lines, they will surrender to the Americans, share every piece of imperial military intelligence, and join John Smith to tear down your palace?"

Viona gasped softly, her eyes widening.

She hadn’t considered that. Her divine arrogance had made her believe that mortal heroes would always obey their summoner. But Ayanokoji’s cold words shattered that illusion completely.

If the students were forced to face an army from their own world—an army carrying the flag of a nation they recognized—their loyalty would vanish in a heartbeat.

"You..." Viona whispered, her breath hitching. "You would betray the goddess who granted you power?"

"It is not betrayal," Ayanokoji replied flatly. "It is simply rational self-interest. We never swore an oath to your throne. If you had summoned us as formal imperial retainers, bound by a magical slave seal, this might be a different conversation. But you summoned us as independent heroes with a singular, stated task: kill the Demon Lord. Deviating from that task breaks the foundation of our presence here. Therefore, I will not lift a finger against John Smith."