The Wrong Hero Has Been Summoned
Chapter 11: Lies

Chapter 11: Lies

"Hehe..." Luna laughed nervously. "We are sorry. We had no other choice but to bet on this, its the only way to set you on the right path." She looked at him with a sad look.

"Wait, you really all came here without knowing the entry chances?" Selene asked, a look of surprise on her face.

"Well..." Vess could not find a suitable response as well.

Luther stared at them in disbelief. His eyes flashed with anger as he looked at each of his companions.

"So let me get this straight," he said, his voice low and dangerous. "You dragged me through all this—the fighting, the Guardians, all of it—without knowing if we could even get into Section B? What kind of plan is that?"

Luna looked down at the ground, avoiding his gaze. "We didn’t have many options."

"You could have told me the truth," he shot back. "Instead of letting me risk my life back there without knowing the full picture."

Vess crossed her arms. "Would you have come if we had?"

That made him pause. He ran a hand through his hair and sighed heavily.

"Maybe not," he admitted. "But that doesn’t make it right."

The fire crackled between them. The forest around them seemed to grow quieter, as if listening to their argument.

"I’m confused," Selene said, looking between them. "If you didn’t know about getting into Section B, why come this far at all?"

He looked at her. "Haaah...." He sighed, holding his face, "because they want me to attend the academy in section A"

"Hahaha," she burst out laughing none of them found it funny, she stopped, looking at their face, her smile fading, "wait, you are serious?" No answer, Luther just stared off, pissed at the whole situation.

"You do realise that the royal academy is just for royals, right?"

Luther looked even more pissed now.

"So you mean to tell me," he growled, getting to his feet, "that not only did you drag me here without a plan to get into Section B, but your whole goal was to get me into a place I can’t even enter?" His fists clenched at his sides.

Luna winced. "When you put it like that..."

"How else should I put it?" His voice rose. "You’ve been lying to me this whole time!"

Vess stood up, facing him. "We didn’t lie. We just... didn’t tell you everything."

"That’s the same thing!" He threw his hands up. "I fought those Guardians, got beaten half to death, and for what? A plan that was doomed from the start?"

Selene watched them argue, her eyes moving from person to person. "The academy doesn’t just take anyone," she said. "Your friends should have known that. Only those with royal blood or special permission can enter."

He turned to her. "And let me guess - getting that special permission is nearly impossible?"

She nodded slowly. "Unless you have connections to someone important inside, yes."

He laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Great. Just great." He walked a few steps away, his back to the group. "I cannot believe this shit!"

A heavy silence fell over the camp.

After a long moment, Luna spoke up. "We do have a plan, though. Sort of."

He turned back. "Sort of?"

She exchanged glances with Vess. "There’s a tournament held in Section B every year. The winner gets a special audience with one of the royal families."

"And you think I can win this tournament?" He asked, his voice flat.

Vess nodded. "After seeing you fight those Guardians? Yes."

He stared at them, then at Selene. "Is this true? About the tournament?"

Selene looked thoughtful. "The Summer Challenge. Yes, it’s real. The winner does get to meet with the royal family of their choice. But..."

"But what?"

"It’s incredibly difficult. Fighters come from all over. Many have trained their whole lives for it."

He sat back down heavily. "And when is this tournament?"

"It starts in three days," Luna said quietly.

He closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. "Of course it does."

"Look," Vess said, "we know we should have told you everything from the beginning. But this might be the only chance we get, we cannot let this chance slip away."

He opened his eyes and looked at the three of them. "I should walk away right now. Go back to Section D and forget I ever met any of you."

Luna’s face fell.

"But I have no choice," he continued. "Not because I forgive you, but because I’ve come too far to turn back now."

"So you’ll try for the tournament?" Vess asked, hope in her voice.

"I’ll try," he said. "though, I am not sure what you are expecting with the shape I am in."

Luna looked away. "Yeahhhh... about that, you were never supposed to fight back there. We were planning to save your strength for the tournament but well that didn’t work out to well."

He stared at her, his jaw tightening. "So not only did you hide the real plan, but you didn’t even want me to fight when I had to?"

"We were hoping to get easy fights," Vess explained, her voice quiet against the crackling fire. "The fight with the Guardians wasn’t part of the plan."

"Nothing seems to be part of the plan," he muttered. He leaned back against a tree trunk and stared up at the stars peeking through the forest canopy.

Selene looked between them, seemingly amused by the whole situation. "Well, if it helps, I do know a bit about the Summer Challenge. Perhaps I can share what I know."

He waved a hand. "Please. At this point, any real information would be welcome."

Selene nodded and shifted closer to the fire. "The Summer Challenge has three stages. First is the Qualifier—simple combat matches. Many enter, few advance."

"How many is ’few’?" Vess asked.

"Sixteen," Selene replied.

"Well, that doesn’t sound too bad, if I was in top shape at least." He said, lying done to rest. "I need to sleep this off. goodnight."

They all looked at him, and all felt bad for him but this was the only way.

"we are sorry." Luna whispered to herself.