My summon to another world was even weirder than I expected

"‘What do you mean you won’t help us?!’ Austin exclaimed, his voice agitated.

Fortunately, they were standing in a corner away from the crowd, so no one paid much attention to them.

‘I have no interest in helping you craft such a lie,’ Ronald said firmly.

‘You have it all planned out, but have you thought about what will happen when these people find out the truth? You can’t hide it forever, and when it comes out, I’ll be implicated as well.’

Austin tried to respond, but before he could, Zack interjected:

‘Even if they were to discover us, it wouldn’t be immediately. With a bit of time, you could say you don’t remember what classes we had,’ Zack said as he analyzed the situation. ‘Besides, you have a crafting class, so you’ll be separate from us. No one will have any reason to ask you anything. All we’re asking is that if you see or hear anything about us, just ignore it. You won’t get in trouble for not remembering us.’

Hearing this, Ronald’s face remained unchanged, but Zack, having learned to read others’ body language, could tell his words were having an effect.

‘Think about it. No one knows where the other students with tier 1 classes are. It’s possible they’ve been sent directly to where we’re going. No one’s told us what’s happening with them. You can’t know what’s going to happen to us. No one can. All we’re asking is that if you hear about us while we’re training, just ignore it like any other news and don’t tell anyone about us. In return, we’ll owe you a favor. Simple, right?’

Zack finished speaking, locking eyes with Ronald while ignoring Austin, who, standing beside him, looked like a mix of a steroid-filled bodybuilder and an abandoned puppy.

Looking at Austin’s expression, Zack felt like sighing.

(If I could choose, I’d have done this alone. However, Austin is in the same situation as me, which means if he goes down, I go down with him,) Zack thought.

To be honest, Austin could be both the best and worst person to attempt this kind of infiltration with.

This moment carried the highest risk of getting caught. Once they made it past today, the chances of Austin being the cause of their capture would significantly drop.

(After all, the hardest way to detect a mistake in an infiltrator is when the infiltrator themselves forgets they shouldn’t be there,) Zack thought as he waited for Ronald’s response.

Ronald seemed to consider it for a moment but eventually shook his head.

‘I’m sorry, but I’d rather not take any risks. My answer remains the same,’ he said, turning around to head toward one of the guards to report the two people who shouldn’t be there.

Austin looked like he was about to panic. Both knew how crucial it was to secure more resources to improve their magic classes, especially given how their status seemed tied to them.

Austin hurried after Ronald, intending to stop him from saying anything.

‘So you’re just going to let Yamato get away with it?!’

Or at least, that’s what would have happened if Zack hadn’t placed a hand on his shoulder.

The situation was extremely delicate, and Zack was certain that threatening Ronald wouldn’t work. Even if they managed to stop him from saying anything now, he’d likely tell the nearest guard as soon as they separated.

No, this situation required a different perspective. If Ronald didn’t want to help them, Zack had to make Ronald need their help.

At Zack’s words, Ronald stopped in his tracks and turned to him with a ferocity that hadn’t been present before—or perhaps it had been hidden, waiting to explode at the most unexpected moment.

‘What are you going to do, Ronald? Leave it all behind?’

Zack’s words seemed to resonate with Ronald. He didn’t even bother hiding it anymore.

The facade of a vulnerable victim that Ronald maintained in class, on the streets, and at home fell for a moment. In its place, there was only one thing in Ronald’s eyes:

Hate.

A hatred far too great for someone his age. If anyone saw Ronald now, they’d wonder what had happened for someone to have such a look. And yet, Zack knew.

All of Ronald’s classmates knew.

It wasn’t new information. Everyone with a certain level of insight had heard the rumors. And yet no one did anything.

No one tried to uncover the truth, investigate the rumors, or even understand how the situation had unfolded.

Everyone acted... as if nothing had happened.

It was moments like these when Zack felt contempt for high society—the world his parents were part of, and the world he was a part of.

The hatred in Ronald’s eyes lasted only a moment before disappearing again—or rather, hiding again. It was so quick that Austin didn’t notice, and if Zack hadn’t been paying attention, he wouldn’t have seen it either. But Zack was paying attention, and he did see it.

‘I have no idea what you’re talking about. Now, please let go of me,’ Ronald said, shaking off Zack’s hand.

Zack didn’t insist and withdrew his hand willingly.

‘You don’t realize the situation you’re in,’ Zack said.

Seeing that Zack was still speaking, Ronald’s eyes began to fill with annoyance, especially since it seemed like Zack was threatening him. The next words out of Zack’s mouth made that annoyance vanish.

‘The people who would really be in trouble, if these people found out everything, aren’t you and Airi—it’s us,’ Zack said, despite the surprise in Austin’s eyes.

‘We’re the ones who intentionally deceived this group of arrogant idiots right under their noses. Do you really think they’d be interested in someone who doesn’t remember what happened that day?’ Zack paused for a moment to gauge Ronald’s reaction before continuing.

‘No, their anger will be focused on us, especially since you weren’t the only one there, Ronald. The Archmage and more than half a dozen guards were also present. If anyone finds out, they’ll focus on them, not you.’

Amid Austin’s confused expression, Ronald had already understood what Zack was doing. Zack was deliberately putting himself at a disadvantage, showing Ronald that he held control.

The ones who had the most to lose in this situation were Zack and Austin. It was obvious that the tier 1 students had been separated from the rest, and judging by the banquet, their fate was worse than theirs. Similarly, if anyone discovered that two tier 1 students had fooled them, it probably wouldn’t end with a light punishment. I am in control, Zack thought.

When Ronald reached this conclusion, his eyes lit up slightly.

Seeing this, Zack said:

‘I’ve said everything I had to say. The decision is yours. Austin, let’s go.’ Zack turned without another word and headed toward the servant assigned to escort the magic classes to their new residence.

‘Wait, what?!’ Austin said, startled, as he hurried to catch up, leaving Ronald behind.

‘Are you crazy?! We haven’t even gotten him to promise he won’t say anything. What do we do if he tells someone?’ Austin asked in a low voice as they approached the servant.

Zack said nothing and kept walking. As he’d already said, he had nothing more to say.

There was no absolute way to guarantee Ronald wouldn’t say anything, but anything else they said would only reduce their chances.

Now, they could only gamble that Ronald had enough hatred to use them for revenge—a depressing thought.

When they reached the servant guiding them, she said nothing. She simply smiled, bowed slightly out of respect, and began leading them out of the dining hall.

To be honest, Zack was exhausted. Too many senseless things had happened in a short time—from being summoned to another world to fight in a war to having their future depend on an unstable seventeen-year-old.

Zack needed time to organize his thoughts, but his parents had taught him that everything had its moment, and if he acted too late, he’d lose potential opportunities.

(My parents.) Zack suddenly thought of them.

With everything that had happened in just a few hours, Zack had been ignoring the full scope of his situation. Would he ever return home? The king had said they’d be sent back after the war, but who knew if it was true?

Even if they made it back, no one knew how much time would have passed or if they’d still be the same as when they left.

The headache returned.

All Zack wanted in that moment was to lie down and forget everything, but he couldn’t afford that. Otherwise, many opportunities would slip away.

Before he realized how much time had passed, the maid guiding them stopped. Seeing this, Zack also stopped and looked around.

They were no longer in the dining hall, nor were they in the same part of the castle as before.

Although the castle walls were still visible, they were now outside. In front of them was an equally imposing building, slightly separated from the rest.

The Magic Tower."