"So, he is the one?" King Ramus of Rumooku said as he looked down at the white haired man. After his collapse, the summoned individual had been rushed to an isolated room, and several magicians and priests had been called on to oversee his recovery. "Tell me, what is his current condition?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Said the Head Royal Magician with a deep bow of the head. "As of now, the man is suffering from several dozen internal injuries, many of which seem quite old. As strange as it is, most of his vital organs seem to have scar tissue on them. On top of that, he is suffering from the most severe case of leveling sickness I have ever heard of. According to Princess Yuriko, he was only a level 1 when he was first summoned, but now his level has jumped up to level 15."
A level 1. A level 1 man had killed the Greater Demon which had ravaged over 5% of his entire country in a matter of hours? What in the world had his sister managed to summon? Even history's greatest warriors had never accomplished such a thing.
Demons had complete immunity to all non magical forms of attack, and even if one did have a magic weapon, they would still resist 90% of the damage. And that was just a normal Demon. A Greater Demon's resistances were even higher.
While his weapons had clearly been magical in nature, they hadn't had the blue light that would have marked them as Holy Weapons wielded by a [Hero]. Yet he was able to kill the Demon anyways.
"This man is the savior of our country. You will save his life. Spare no expense." The King ordered. If he hadn't stopped the Demon's rampage, who knows how many would have died. Without a [Hero] to protect them, the entire small country like his could have been destroyed in a couple of days.
He might have been dangerous, but the King didn't feel he had a choice. His precious little sister had for some reason become the target of a Demon. Without this strange man's power, what would they do if another one came?
After receiving his report, the King moved to check on his sister.
"Yuriko, are you alright in there? Can I come in?" Ramus asked as he knocked on the woman's door.
"Yes, please do." She replied.
The King entered the room, his personal guards standing at the doorway, silent as he visited his sister. As soon as he entered the room, he saw that she was not along. The King's daughter, Princess Menea was there, along with the two other surviving summoned individuals, a ten-year-old boy with girlish features named Aoi Haruka and a thirteen-year-old girl called Yui Akasaki.
The two japanese children hadn't had any special powers at all, and the King found their behavior rather unnerving, especially the girl who called herself an 'idol' and did a lot of unusual singing and dancing. But his Kingdom was responsible for them and wouldn't shy away from that responsibility, and they made his little sister happy.
As for Menea, she was close to her aunt, and had always been since she was a little girl. Though since Yuriko never physically aged, they looked to be the same age as one and other, as Menea was rather tall and well-endowed for a sixteen-year-old girl. Though unlike Yuriko, Menea had inherited the wavy bright pink hair that the royal family was known for.
The King winced as his daughter gave him a scowl. She had been very upset with him ever since he had used contract magic to force the third individual who was summoned to train, resulting in the man working himself to death, and with each time he had pressured Yuriko to summon, his daughter's attitude towards him soured more and more.
While she was not loved by the country as a whole, due to her ominous purple hair, Yuriko was well loved by the royal children. While Ramus and his wives were usually swamped with political work, Yuriko had been the one to raise his four sons and six daughters. Their love for her exceeded that they held for their actual parents. So when the King tried to take advantage of his sister's unique abilities, causing her to cry about the people who died, only for him to continue to pressure her into doing it again and again, he had earned himself a place in the dog house.
"How are you feeling?" Ramus asked, his face going soft as he looked down at his little sister.
"I'm better now." Yuriko assured him, even though she still looked even paler than usual. Her thin lips made even thinner by how tightly she pressed them together. "You really don't need to worry about me. I know you have to be busy right now."
"I'm not so busy that I can't make the time for my family." Ramus said with a small smile.
Yuriko had always been a meek girl for as long as Ramus could remember.
Whether it was in this world, or in her previous life, Yuriko had suffered. Because of her ominous purple hair, people did not believe her when she had claimed to have been reincarnated by god, when she was a young girl. Even when she proved it with her unique skills and her knowledge of the Japanese language, people still didn't believe her. She had been treated with such contempt and suspicion growing up that it had been hard to watch. The fact that she was so ugly didn't help matters.
Though who believed her story about God reincarnating her claimed that she must have angered God when she had asked to be bestowed with beauty.
She was so kind, so accepting, and she had been chosen by a God to be reborn. She should have been treated as a Saintess. Ramus was ashamed of the way his country and his parents had treated her, and had done everything he could for her since they were kids. But as a King, he had no choice but to make use of every resource to try to protect his people.
"Auntie really did it. She really summoned a hero." Menea said, smiling brightly as she clutched at Yuriko's hands, trying to cheer her up.
"I… suppose I did." Yuriko said, still a little weakly.
"Way to go, Yuriko-sama!" Yui cheered. "I can't wait to meet him! Hey, what is he like? He was Japanese, wasn't he?"
"I'm not really sure. He spoke Japanese, but his appearance was so strange. He had unusual snow white hair and dark skin, and he was somehow pulling powerful magical swords out of thin air." Yuriko said looking out the window. "I'm not sure what to make of him."
"He's probably from another different timeline." Aio said, scratching his chin. "Maybe a timeline where magic exists in Japan."
"Or maybe, he's some kind of super soldier from a more technologically advanced timeline." Yui suggested.
"Well, we will hopefully find out once he wakes up." Ramus said. "Yuriko, if you are feeling up to it, I would like you to be there when we question him. To make sure that he is telling the truth."
Anyone who Yuriko summoned had no choice but to reveal their secrets if she was the one asking them. It was part of her Unique Skill.
Of course, as King, Ramus could use the power of the City Core to force the man to speak the truth. However, that would drain mana away from the city, decreasing their country's defenses and limiting what he would be able to do to help his people after the recent disaster. The City Core was already drained after holding off the Greater Demon for as long as it did. He couldn't use it's power for anything short of an emergency.
"I'll do my best, Onii-sama." Yuriko replied.
"Thank you." Ramus said gently.
Then came a knocking on the door. "Your Majesty, the man has woken up."
"What? Already?" Yuriko squeaked, gripping his dress. Then noticing her brother's look she relaxed her grip. "I… I'm ready." She assured him.
"Can we come along as well, Your Majesty?" Menea asked, reaching out and taking one of Yuriko's hands in hers, giving it a small squeeze.
"I don't think that is…" Ramus started but seeing his sister's small shaking, he relented. "Fine."
"Yeah, we get to meet a real hero!" Yui cheered. "I wonder if he was a fan?"
The King closed his eyes, praying that the children would just keep quiet.
"Divine words of healing in a world where the Gods still rule. Potent stuff." Shirou commented as he judged his own body, as well as the magic restricting shackles they had on him. Good shackles, which Shirou gladly added to his Unlimited Blade Works, even if he had already circumvented them and unlocked them. "How long did it take you to learn?"
"N...not long. We're still only apprentices with the Karion Church." Said Emma, one of the twin Priestesses that had been made to tend to Shirou's wounds. She was taking a break to recover her strength while her sister took a turn. With how extensive Shirou's condition had been, it had taken each of them draining themselves dry twice in order to bring him back to functioning levels.
Shirou had gone all out against the Phantasmal Beast, the Demon, using a fire god slaying weapon in order to cancel out its defensives, stop its regeneration, and defend again its fire magic. He could have defended himself and killed the monster with less, but if he had, everyone else in the room would have been burned to death. No, they wouldn't have been simply burned to death, there wouldn't have even been bodies left by those flames.
He was actually surprised that he ever woke up at all. Or that he felt better than he had in months. In fact, his body seemed stronger than ever before, even if his core was still damaged. Was it his imagination, or was there more Od in his circuits then there had been before? Like, a lot more.
Shirou listened to the long string of unfamiliar syllables Emmy was chanting. It left him dumbstruck, the sheer speed and accuracy of her abnormally long chant. Not only that, the results were on par with some of the strongest healing magic he had come across over the years. Broken bones knit themselves back together in moments and even the damage to his magic circuits was slowly being restored.
And these girls were just apprentices?
Emmy and Emma were a pair of young girls, around seventeen years old with shoulder length blond hair. The twins were mirrors of each other, with Emmy's hair parted to the left, while Emma's parted to the right, but were otherwise identical.
Shirou had woken up to find them working on him and had been trying to learn whatever he could.
The translation ring he had been given was very convenient for this. It was a form of magecraft that interacted with the Leyline in order to access true meaning within words. A very useful item, and something that would be considered too troublesome to be worth making in Shirou's own world. It functioned similar to how Servants would gain common knowledge upon summoning.
"Sorry for my ignorance, but is Karion the name of your faction or your God?" Shirou asked.
"It's alright, we understand that you are not of this world and wouldn't know. Karion is known as the Goddess of Wisdom. She is one of the Seven Pillar Gods who supports this world." Emma replied.
"I see. Is it the national religion in… what was the country called again, Lumooku?"
"No, it's Rumooku. And it isn't really a national religion. Most nations have freedom of religion and people worship whichever God or Goddess they like." Emma explained.
"Does freedom of religion extend to not worshipping any God?"
"Ah? I suppose so, though most people usually choose to worship one God or another, since there are benefits that can be gained from faithful worship. Though there are the occasional people who denounce the Gods, they are left alone, so long as they do so peacefully."
"I see." He said. He wasn't exactly planning on worshipping, but it might be a necessity in this world. The Gods might ignore a normal atheist, but would they tolerate Shirou being one?
"If you would like, we could talk to the Head Priestess about getting you baptized... if you would like." Emma said, shifting a bit.
"The Karion Church is not trying to steal the march and recruit a Hero, is it?" A man with long pink hair and a crown said as he entered the room, giving the twin's a reproachful look.
"Eep… Your… Your Majesty." "We won't try any such thing. Emma was just letting him know that the option is open, that all." Emma and Emmy said, paling slightly and bowing to the King as he walked into the room, followed by the purple haired woman from before, as well as a young pink haired girl and two black haired children. And, of course, around twenty guards with swords already drawn.
Shirou's eyes locked onto the purple haired young woman, still shocked by her appearance. Change her hair to black, and she would have looked exactly like Rin did when they were seventeen.
A young woman with twin tails performing magic capable of pulling someone from another world. Shirou had been so sure that it had been her. He had wanted to believe. After all, Rin hadn't died… she just disappeared. But it wasn't her.
"Forgive them, Your Majesty. We were only making small talk and the topic of religion came up. They were only trying to inform me to the best of their abilities." Shirou said, with a small dip of his head.
"Understandable. However, the political situation between the Churches is complicated enough with the Parion Church monopolizing Hero Summoning and the destruction of Zaikuon at the hands of the Dragon God. While you accepting the baptism from Karion might not be the worst thing in the world, it isn't something to be done without thinking of the consequences."
"Damned politics." Shirou mumbled in Japanese, causing the young black haired girl to start giggling.
"You don't like politics huh?" The girl said, covering her smile with one hand. The King raised an eyebrow, looking at the girl with disapproval.
Shirou himself only smirked. "If there is anyone who actually does like politics, they belong in a circus, so that people from all around could go and gock at the freak." This got an even brighter smile out of the child. "Since His Majesty is here, it must be time for my interrogation, correct?"
"Your full cooperation during the questioning would be appreciated." The King admitted, glancing at the girl with purple hair and giving her a nod of the head.
"Please tell me who you are." She said, calmly.
Shirou felt a twinge, something recognizable. "Hmm, is this compliance curse? Was it a part of the summoning ritual, or did you cast it on me while I was unconscious?" Shirou said with a bit of a teasing smile. "Either way, your instruction is too vague, so I have no trouble ignoring it." It was only meant as a joke, but the young woman recoiled at his words. Her look of fright was more painful than anything the curse could accomplish. "...Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. It was just a joke."
Even if they looked a lot alike, this girl was not Rin. She was not the confident, perverted, Tsundere of a Magus who Shirou knew.
"My name is Shirou Emiya. I was a Freelance Spellcaster, working alongside the Cathic Church's Burial Agency, hunting rogue Magicians who explored forbidden magic and dangerous Vampires." Shirou said, using the words provided by the translator ring to make sure they understood what he was saying. Perhaps if he was more of a traditionalist magus, he would have been upset about the incorrect jargon, but Shirou really wasn't the kind of person to care about that. Not at the moment, anyways.
"A vampire hunter! Really!?" The small girl shouted in excitement.
"Yui, you need to be quiet." The boy next to her hissed into her ear, though his eyes were also wide.
"I was under the impression that 'Japan' was a world without magic." The King said, questioning Shirou's story.
"As far as most people are concerned, it is. After the Gods disappeared from the world, the supply of Mana became extremely limited. With so little Mana evaluble, it became a limited resource. The more people who know about magic, the less effective it becomes, so the well established families wanted to keep it as secretive as possible. Usually, that involved a lot of murdering people who found out, along with all of their friends and family." Shirou said, his mood a little dark just thinking about it. "I personally detest the practice, but there is nothing I can do about it. They won't listen to reason, and I can't stop them with force either. As much as I hate the traditionalist faction, the continued existence of the Clocktower is too important for world stability."
This got quite a bit of a reaction out of the surrounding people.
"...I see." The King said before looking to the purple haired young woman. "Ask him."
"Ah, yes." She said, nodding her head. It seemed they were aware that even if he could resist being made to talk, he couldn't lie when he did answer her questions. Or so they thought. Shirou had been hit with a lot of curses over the years, and had developed something of a tolerance for them. "Why… Why is it that you had a noose around your neck when you were summoned?"
"...That's a bit of a story. One of the cities in my world was attacked by a powerful vampire. Over five thousand people turned into ghouls before we ever even made it to the city. Far too many to contain, and far too many witnesses. The Church, in its infinite stupidity, decided to purge the entire city, killing half a million people. I managed to survive and even took down the target, but was then made to take the blame for what happened. They claimed I started a nuclear meltdown at a power plant and was responsible for all the deaths. Though since I failed to protect the people, I guess I deserved it." Shirou said with a shrug. "I hope that puts your mind at ease."
"Half a million." Emma gasped. "Even the Demon only killed five thousand."
"That is only because it was killed. Remember, the Oracle said that a royal would be kidnapped and half of Rumooku would burn." Emmy whispered to her sister.
Five thousand? Was that the current estimate or the number of confirmed deaths? It hadn't been long enough for them to get the exact number. Either way, it was a large number.
"Emiya-dono, please forgive our paranoia." The King said, turning to the side and instructing someone to remove Shirou's restraints. The knight was surprised to find them unlocked, but since he didn't say anything, no one else noticed.
"It's no problem at all. I was actually surprised you didn't just leave me to die, or at least keep me at death's door. It would have been the safer play." Shirou admitted. Even if he had been restrained, he was still treated far better than he would have expected.
"You have saved the countless lives of my people and protected my younger sister, Princess Yuriko. Regardless of our fears, we could not simply watch you die." The King said.
"Like your greed had nothing to do with it." The pink haired girl mumbled, her voice so quiet that only Archer's enhanced ears could pick it up.
Shirou figured as much. Though he was more offended by the man's lack of introduction. Was Shirou expected to know who he was, despite being from another world?
"A monster was attacking. Protecting the people around me was simply natural. Anyone in my position would have done the same thing." Shirou replied.
"I somehow doubt that." The King said with a raised eyebrow and glanced at the priestesses. "Has the healing been going well?"
"Yes, Your Majesty." "He has been recovering faster than anyone I have ever seen before." "Almost unnaturally fast." "Perhaps a byproduct of his [Hero] title." Emmy and Emma said quickly, taking turns with each sentence.
"Is that so? No offense meant, but you seem unusually calm about all this. Everyone else who had been summoned before you would usually be hysterical right about now." The King said.
"While this is the first time I have ever been summoned, I've been transported into other worlds before. Though in the past, it had always just been to other versions of Japan. The person I was traveling with lacked the experience needed to accurately navigate past the fifth dimension." Shirou said, as if interdimensional travel was no big deal. "Speaking of which, does the name Tohsaka Rin mean anything to you?"
Shirou looked at the purple haired girl as he asked this, though he saw nothing to indicate that she recognized the name.
"I'm afraid that I am unfamiliar with this person you speak of." The King replied. "Who are they?"
"She was my instructor and close friend, though she was usually focused on researching traveling between worlds. One day, she left our world and never came back." Shirou said regretfully. "The young lady behind you, the one who was able to summon me from another world, looks a lot like her. With her appearance and the power to connect worlds, I thought that she might be Rin's descendant or student, maybe even her reincarnation, but I suppose I am wrong."
"...Reincarnation?" The King said, glancing at the girl.
"I… I am a reincarnation." The girl admitted, causing Shirou's eyes to widen. "But my name had been Touichi Yuriko. And I was gifted the power to connect worlds by God."
"I see. Well, the multiverse is a big place. Expecting to find her was unrealistic." Shirou mumbled to himself.
"I am sorry." The King said awkwardly. "You are the savior of our Kingdom. If there is anything you wish, any reward I can give you, name it."
"...I want information. Anything you can give me on the Demons, both historical or theoretical." Shirou said after a moment's thought.
After all, where there is one rat, there's usually an infestation.