["In the beginning, there was the Sound. The first string plucked in the universe, high and clear." — Codex Orchestral, Capo 1:1]
The sensation of needles prickling over Kiritsugu's skin slowly faded away with the light. He was standing on another stone floor, this time of a warm reddish-brown granite.
Great. Yet another castle. He could feel it in his bones even before his vision cleared and he took in the throne on the high dias, the pillars and windows and guards.
Instinctually he assessed the latter. A dozen men and women in chainmail and blue livery, steel halberds at the ready. They were staring at him, mouths slightly agape. Probably not homunculi, then—
"Oh, sweet Lady Senia…!" A high feminine voice gasped from his side. "It worked! I can't believe it—oh, thank goodness! It actually worked!"
He turned to find a young woman clutching a book to her chest so tightly she almost unbalanced the glasses perched on her nose. She yelped and tried to correct them, a clumsy motion of the hand that instead knocked off her wide-brimmed purple witch's hat.
"Oh dear, that's not–eek!"
Kiritsugu didn't dare take a step out of the magic circle inscribed under his feet until he knew more about it. Unfortunately, that also meant he couldn't avoid the witch's headlong crash into him. A voluptuous chest barely constrained by an abbreviated lilac corset pressed against his right arm, while silky blonde locks flew into his face and nearly made him sneeze.
"Oh no, oh no, I'm so sorry!" She scrambled back from him. Her soft brown eyes met his gray ones before she dropped them down to her wringing hands. "I didn't mean—"
"You never do," sighed another young woman—spiky, rust-colored hair with another sizable chest, framed by an embroidered blouse and dark pants. Golden eyes locked onto him and glared. It was good to see a familiar response.
"Ah…" The witch fumbled with her hat, before pressing both it and the book to her chest. Then she straightened and looked up at the dias. "Ahem. Your Highnesses, may I present to you the shining light that pierces the darkness, the legendary hero foretold in the Codex Orchestral, the…" She paused and leaned anxiously towards him. "Um… you are the Hero, right?"
It really shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. But he felt the sting anyway, a little spike in his heart, a catch of his breath. It was not something he wanted to hear anymore. He had never been a hero, merely a failure playing at one.
"Oh, sorry," she continued when he didn't speak up. "Of course you are, ahaha! The ritual called for one hero, and here you are, Yuusha-sama. We're very grateful and—"
"Elana!"
"Yes, Princess! Sorry, Princess!" The witch's back immediately stiffened, before her mouth twisted ruefully. "Oh… why does it always turn out like this…"
While the witch mumbled, Kiritsugu took a second look at the summoning circle surrounding him. The sigils and icons were entirely alien to him, drawn in what looked and smelled like pungent ink instead of the blood or powdered silver he'd expected. Stranger still, he couldn't sense any warding aura or bounded field from them. Even the crackling static of magical energy was swiftly draining away.
He frowned. Did they intend to let him step out any time he wished?
"A-anyway!" The witch waved to encompass both the scowling girl and another woman seated on the throne. "Yuusha-sama, may I present Her Royal Highness, Princess Solaire di Conduttori, and Her Majesty, Queen-Regent Rosalind di Conduttori."
Now that he was looking more closely, Kiritsugu could pick out the thin silver tiara between the spikes of copper hair. In contrast, the crown adorning the woman seated on the throne, smiling encouragingly at him, was heavily adorned with gems. A mane of shining red tumbled down the flowing blue dress to her generous cleavage.
"Thank you, Yuusha-sama," the queen said warmly in an alto that spoke equally of summer roses and polished steel. "I regret that I cannot welcome you to a peaceful land. The shadow of war has darkened our ramparts since the Demon Lord set his malignant eye on our country and those that shelter beyond us. For years my husband, the late King of Crescendo…"
Her amber eyes squeezed shut before the queen regained her composure.
"…bravely led our armies to hold off the Demon Lord's hordes at the point of our spears. Alas, he has fallen in battle. And neither I nor the best of our remaining generals can hope to replace his dragon's heart on the field of war. Even now, the forces of darkness gather to hammer upon our gates."
She took a deep breath as she rose from her seat, holding her hands out towards him.
"Yuusha-sama, forgive us for our selfish request. But you are our only hope."
Kiritsugu let the silence hang until all he could hear was the sounds of the honor guards' breathing. He felt… nothing. He didn't care about their plight, he didn't care about their people. He was a stranger in a strange land, and he didn't even have a home to return to. Coercion and blackmail were the only reasons he stood there, nothing so noble as what they assumed.
How was he supposed to tell them that? Should he even bother?
"Well?" snapped the apparent princess, moving around so she was glaring at him again, hands firmly planted on her waist. "Are you going to say something, or sit there like a elf in a shi—"
"Solaire!" reproved her mother, before turning back to him with a pained expression. "Please excuse my daughter. Some of the knights have been of… dubious influence."
"Mother, we don't need him. I can lead the army in father's place." Solaire's nose crinkled as she took in Kiritsugu's dark suit and tattered coat. "Besides, what kind of hero is that? Where's his shining armor? His peerless sword?" Her glower deepened. "I don't think he's even taken a bath in—"
"Solaire! I'm surprised at you, criticizing manners while showing none of your own."
Scarlet burned the tips of the girl's ears. She grit her teeth and shot him her darkest look yet, but fell silent.
"Where is he based?" His throat felt sore, unused. "The Demon Lord."
The witch—he cursed inwardly as he realized he'd almost forgotten all about her—swiveled back into sight. "Right, of course you'll want to know where their hordes sweep down from. Their main forces are camped along Dalsegno Ridge, but in the past we've seen some, ah, incursions through Aria Valley and Galatina Forest. I'll see about getting a map!"
"Already have one," said the princess with a superior smile as she produced a roll of paper from somewhere inside her tunic. "And I've marked out all the tactical engagement points. Which is more than Yuusha-sama can do."
Smugness radiated from her brow as she moved closer, the better to show off the crosses and lines marked in red on the grid. To his surprise, he could actually make out the words that were scattered around the page. "Fuoco", "Leggia", and "Münter" were just a few that caught his eye. And the paper was of higher quality than he expected for what appeared to be a Late Middle Ages European-esque society.
He took the map from her hands with a single step.
"Hey! Give that back, you… you escogriffe!"
She tried to snatch it back. Kiritsugu shifted his shoulder to block her off as he considered the paper.
"Where are we located on this map?" he asked.
"Huh? Senia above, are you that dim…" Her finger jabbed at one of the many sketched fortifications. "Here, in Sonata. You know, the capital."
"And the Demon Lord?"
"In his fortress in the Al'im Wastes." She scoffed, moving her pointer finger to the edge of the map, indicating beyond its limited scope. "Even children know that."
"Ah, Princess." The witch coughed into her fist. "Children in our world. But I'm afraid that Yuusha-sama has only just arrived, so he can't be expected to know."
"Yeah?" She snorted. "Isn't the ritual supposed to give him the knowledge he needs?"
"Well, yes… but I may, um, have been an hour off on the timing… only an hour though!" She wrung the purple drapery of her skirt, or what may have been lingerie posing as a skirt. "It can't have made that much of a difference!"
He neatly folded the map and held it back out to the princess, who received it with forced grace.
"I'll take out the Demon Lord," he stated, already looking for the exit. "You don't need me for anything else, so I'll get it done quickly."
"Hold on! What do you mean, take out the Demon Lord?" Solaire pointed an accusatory finger at him. "We go through all the trouble of summoning your disrespectful ass—"
The queen didn't bother to correct her this time, only sighed.
"—and you're going off to get yourself killed immediately?" The princess snarled. "You ungrateful cur! At least die doing something useful!"
The final word echoed through the chamber and left a deafening silence in its wake. A small sliver of amusement twisted in his gut before it was crushed back under the numbness. Her and Saber would have gotten along just fine.
"Um, Yuusha-sama," the witch spoke up in a quiet voice. "I would, err, advise against that. The Demon Lord's castle is… unnatural. There are reports of spaces that are physically impossible— staircases that rebel against their passengers—all sorts of things that would trip up even the most prepared warrior."
"I'll figure it out," he said. It wasn't a matter of confidence, only a matter of planning and observation. He'd taken out bunkered-down targets many times before. There was always a weak point.
"Sure. Just like all the other volunteers that tried." The princess' eyes hardened to brass. "Men and women with years of experience fighting and slipping through dark magic. Oh, but you'll figure it out. Why didn't we think of that?"
"Solaire." The queen's voice softened. "We all miss her. But Yuusha-sama was foretold. We need to believe things will be different this time."
Fury twisted into exasperation. "Mother—"
"That being said," she continued, "we did not summon you merely to… deal the blow that we cannot strike ourselves. You are not just another warrior—you are the Hero. A symbol for our strength, our pride, our fortitude. While you still stand, our kingdom—indeed, all of Senia's children—remains unbroken and unbowed."
The queen took a few steps away from the throne, off of the dais, and fixed him with amber eyes. "Yuusha-sama, we summoned you to be our new king."
