I'm back at it with another chapter of this, finally!
Thank you everyone for the feedback! Overall, this story received a surprisingly positive response. At least, it was a surprise to me. Gilgamesh's personality is a pain to get the nuances right, but thanks to reviews and discussions I've had with some of you, I feel like Gil's personality is set. Special thanks to Raj8 for showing me the translated version of Gilgamesh's Fate CCC Route.
Poll is up on my profile right now, more details at bottom A/N.
Now, feast your eyes on the king who owns all of our attention!
The sensation of flying was not new to Louise. Her family estate hosted multiple griffons and manticores. As a child, Louise had ridden with her mother and older siblings on the back of the majestic steeds. As she had grown, and her lack of magic persisted, those rides had become fewer and further between, until they had ended entirely. It had never been overt, but Louise was never invited out by her mother, only encouraged to "practice her magic".
All this was to say that flying should have given Louise a nostalgic sensation of better times. However, the ship she was flying in reminded her nothing of her family's mounts. She was not seated on a beast of fur and feathers. She was standing in the smallest and slimmest airship she had ever seen. It was also the fastest and nimblest airship she'd witnessed. The wings of the airship shifted positions constantly as they zigzagged through the air.
The faint smile on Gligamesh's face made Louise think that the king was showing off. If he was trying to impress her, it was working. She couldn't see any obvious signs of him using magic to control the ship, but that's what he must have been using, because there were no physical controls to be seen.
The airship reached the capital far quicker than Louise had expected. As they approached the city walls, Gilgamesh rose from his seat and began walking forward. To Louise's surprise, the king stepped past the ship's small area of safety and walked onto the tapered bow. The ship's movements steadied and slowed as they approached the city, but that position still looked extremely unsafe. The king didn't seem to care, as his gaze was focused on a falcon that was soaring to the royal castle.
"Come, Louise," said Gilgamesh.
"Is it safe?" Louise asked nervously.
"You won't fall. I will not allow it."
While worded like an assurance, Louise found Gilgamesh's tone to be mocking. Still, she didn't want to get on the blond king's bad side. Louise slowly walked across the bow, keeping her arms out for balance. Surprisingly, some kind of magic kept the worst of the winds away the wind. Her clothes didn't billow, and she wasn't almost swept off the ship. Instead, only a light breeze passed through, making the end of her cloak flap gently in its wake. As Louise reached Gilgamesh's side, she let out a gasp. "Wow."
Louise had visited the capital many times before, but this was the first time she had gotten a view like this. She could see the entire city clearly. People traveled down roads like ants in the dirt. The slums were as filthy as ever. The commoner areas were rundown. The nobles district was where the city began to show its brilliance. And there, in the highest part of the city, the castle towered over the city. The majestic building served as symbol of pride for not just the city, but the entire country of Tristan.
The airship slowed further as they approached the castle. Louise spotted a squad of Griffon Knights flying out to meet them. "Your majesty, members of the guard are coming out to meet us," she informed Gilgamesh. "I don't think they appreciate visitors dropping in unannounced."
"We shall see," Gilgamesh responded. Louise didn't know what gave Gilgamesh the confidence he manifested, but she could only pray to the Founder that the king wouldn't react violently.
The leader of the Griffon Knights flew towards the airship, while the other knights surrounding it from other angles in the sky. That way, if the ship tried to flee, it would be hard pressed to go anywhere except the ground.
Louise gave a gasp when she saw the face of the one who approached them. "Count Wardes?" she exclaimed in surprise.
It had been years she had seen him, but the count's face was still recognizable from the moment they had first met on the Valliere estate. Wardes's face was no longer clean shaven as she remembered, but instead he had facial hair running around the sides of his face, chin, and upper lip. This new look combined with his naturally grey hair made Wardes appear older than he actually was.
Wardes looked to Louise briefly and gave her a small smile. Then he turned to Gilgamesh and said in a professional tone, "I assume you are King Gilgamesh of Uruk?"
Louise was surprised that Wardes knew who Gilgamesh was. After all, they had left before Colbert could have time to send a messenger, and they had flown far faster than any horse could. But the king at her side acted like this was an expected development.
"You assume correctly," Gilgamesh replied. "And who are you?"
"I am Viscount Jean-Jacques Francis de Wardes, Captain of the Griffon Knights," Wardes introduced himself. "May I request that your majesty land your vehicle? My fiancé looks unsteady on her feet."
A smile spread across Gilgamesh's face as his gaze shifted to Louise. "So my summoner is the fiancé of a Viscount," he said with intrigue. "Very well. Louise, you may go back to your place."
Louise gave a polite curtsey before retreating as fast as courteously possible to the widest part of the ship. Gilgamesh's red eyes shifted back to Wardes, gazing into the other man's blue-grey eyes. After a moment, the king nodded. "You are a man of ambition," he said. "I am curious to see where you go in life."
Wardes stiffened. It was subtle, far too subtle for the average person to notice. But Gilgamesh was far from average. "I humbly serve the throne of Tristan," Wardes stated. "My station is testament to the generosity of the late king, Henri de Tristan."
Gilgamesh's eyes narrowed. "So that is the game you wish to play."
Wardes unconsciously lowered his hand to the hilt of his sword. The eyes of the two men met in a contest of wills. After a second, though it felt like an eternity, Wardes conceded with a respectful nod, letting his hand drop to his side. Regardless of what the foreign king said, the viscount couldn't risk his position by challenging the man in such a brazen manner.
Additionally, Wardes had a feeling that if he had drawn his sword, his body wouldn't have reached the ground alive.
Louise's eyes followed Gilgamesh as he made his way back to throne. Once he was seated, the ship began to slowly descend. Louise glanced back at Wardes, who was flying a distance away, before returning her gaze to the seated king. "What were you and Viscount Wardes speaking about, your majesty?" she asked.
"If you wished to know you should have stayed and listened," Gilgamesh responded.
"But you told me to go back—"
"Do not put words into my mouth," he reproached her. "You wished to return to the bridge of the ship. I granted you permission. You were perfectly capable of remaining by my side if you wished to hear the conclusion of our discussion."
Anger bubbled up in Louise, evident as the lower part of her face started to match the vibrant color of her hair. "I thought that was an order," she said with strained politeness.
"You should have asked," Gilgamesh said. There was a gentle thud as the ship landed on the ground. "We will resume our conversation later. Follow me."
Louise forced herself to regain her composure as Gilgamesh strode off the airship. Some of the Griffon Knights had flown away, but the majority had landed on the ground with Captain Wardes. The knights surrounded the king and noble girl as Wardes escorted them into the castle.
"We recently received word that you had been mistakenly summoned to the academy during the Familiar Summoning Ceremony, but we had not been informed of your intentions to visit the capital," Wardes explained as they walked.
"So you have nothing prepared?" Gilgamesh asked.
"The message arrived scarcely seconds before your ship reached the capital. It is by the Founder's grace that we received the correspondence before your arrival, otherwise we would have had the castle in a panic," Wardes offered in explanation. Louise was surprised by the narrow margin, but Gilgamesh appeared bored, like he had already known this information. "I'm afraid that on such short notice, we have not had time to properly prepare for your arrival."
Louise looked at Gilgamesh, an I-told-you-so expression clear on her face.
If Gilgamesh noticed, he didn't make any indication of it. "I am eager to see the princess who had captured the loyalty of my summoner," he said.
"The princess has other duties to attend to, but I can request a meeting as early as tomorrow," Wardes offered.
Louise thought that Gilgamesh would refuse and demand to see the princess immediately, but instead he nodded. "I don't like to be kept waiting, but there are other ways to entertain myself until then."
Wardes looked to Louise, who shied away with a blush. "Your majesty, I would ask that you leave my fiancé out of your entertainment," he told Gilgamesh in a warning tone.
The gold-clad king came to a stop, with the escort following in suit. In a clear and cold voice, Gilgamesh asked Wardes, "Is that any way to speak to a king?"
"I apologies if I sound rude, your majesty, but would I not be failing my duty as a fiancé if I was to leave her with another man?" Wardes asked.
Gilgamesh's lips curled into a smirk, but his eyes remain cold. "So, you would risk my ire to defend your fiancé's honor?"
"Yes," Wardes said resolutely.
The hall was silent, with every spectator holding their breath. Servants had already pulled out of the halls, on account that the message had warned that the king had a vicious temper and had unknown magic that could summon weapons on a whim. The Griffon Knights were ready to draw their swords. King or not, Gilgamesh wouldn't start a fight in their palace unchallenged.
The silence was broken by the sound of Louise clearing her throat. "I thank you for your concern, Viscount Wardes," she said tactfully. "But I do not believe that King Gilgamesh has those sorts of intentions with me."
Wardes quickly glanced at Gilgamesh for confirmation, but the Viscount could ascertain nothing from the other man's ruby eyes. He turned back to Louise and accepted her words with a nod. "You have grown into a bright young woman," Wardes complimented Louise. He turned to face Gilgamesh and bowed. "I apologize for my rude words, your majesty."
Before responding, Gilgamesh's gaze turned to Louise, who was doing her best to plead with her eyes for him to not attack her fiancé. "Very well," Gilgamesh finally replied. "It would ruin my mood to dwell on the matter further.
It was hard to tell if Gilgamesh took the apology seriously with his aloof attitude, but Louise content with no blood being shed. While she wasn't sure who would win in a fight between the powerful king and the Griffon Knights, she had no intentions of finding out. She had no wishes to let her countrymen die—especially her fiancé—and if Gilgamesh died, then Louise would have the consequences of a dead, kidnapped king on her head.
The tour continued, thankfully without further incident. Gilgamesh was shown to a few areas in the palace that were open to guests and visitors, such as a large common area, the guard's training grounds, and the gardens. The tour ended at a bedroom that had been freshly furnished for him. The room was large and ornate, with all of the amenities a noble would expect to find and more. The posts of the bed were lined with gold, with the drapes being made of the finest silk. Every piece of furniture was carved and inlaid with the highest caliber of craftsmanship.
"This will suffice," Gilgamesh said. Unlike Louise, who gaped at the luxury, he looked around with a bored expression on his face. "But I have no need to retire. Tell me, does this castle have a library?"
"There is in indeed," Wardes replied. "Sergeants Cain de Rouge and Abel de Verde will guide you there. They will also serve as your escorts during your stay until a more permanent arrangement is determined."
"Oh?" Gilgamesh said curiously as his gaze fell upon the two named men. Both were dressed in the traditional armor of the griffon knights. Cain was slightly taller, had vibrant fiery hair, and wore an extremely serious expression on his face. Abel had a rounder and more youthful face, and his hair was deep forest green.
The king's eyes bore into theirs for an uncomfortably long moment before he nodded. "That is acceptable," the king said finally.
Louise let out a soft sigh of relief. Gilgamesh had been giving the two men a look that she could only describe as "searching". She had been worried that Gilgamesh was going to threaten them, but aside from the instance of Wardes's faux pas, the king was acting much less aggressive than he had been at the academy.
With an exchange of salutes, Wardes took the bulk of the Griffon Knights away with him, leaving the two knights. The taller of which was the first to speak. "As Captain Wardes said, I am Sergeant Cain de Rogue of the Griffon Knights, your majesty," he said with a polite bow.
"And I am Sergeant Able de Verde. It is pleasure to meet you, your majesty, and young miss," the second knight greeted them, bowing to Gilgamesh and then dipping his head also to Louise.
Gilgamesh nodded. "I see there is some competency in the military. Your magic is not worth mentioning, but you are more than the common mongrels scuttling about." The offhand comment confused the two knights, who weren't sure whether or not they should be offended by the backhanded compliment. Gilgamesh, as per usual, didn't pay their reaction any mind. "Proceed. I wish to see if your library is worthy of my presence."
"I believe it will please you, your majesty," said Abel. "Tristan is famous for its well-learned mages, and we boast the largest and most prominent collection of books."
"We shall see." The words were ominous enough to enforce a silence until they reached the library.
The knight's words were not an empty boast. As the doors to the castle's library were pushed open for Gilgamesh, he could see that the large, vaulted-ceiling room was filled with shelves upon shelves filled with books. However, that was not enough to impress him. "It is sizable, but a library is only as good as its contents," he said aloud.
Louise watched as Gilgamesh scanned the labels of the shelves and began to navigate through the library. "Can you read our language, your majesty?" Louise asked.
"Are you insinuating that I am illiterate?"
"N-not at all, your majesty!" Louise hastily assured him. "I merely was unaware if your written language was the same ours despite the distance of your country."
"All of the languages of mankind are known to me," Gilgamesh replied without turning around as he scanned the shelves. "Your land is not my own, but your language is one I am familiar with. It is a curious phenomenon."
Louise, Cain, and Abel watched in silence as Gilgamesh proceeded to pull books off the shelves and offload the books onto them without a word. The two knights took the burden from Louise, who in turn stacked the books into the knights' arms while both of their hands were occupied. "Are you planning out your next few days of reading, your majesty?" Abel asked.
"Hardly," Gilgamesh replied. "This will suffice for today, assuming any of it is worthy of my time."
Louise glanced at the titles of the books as she stacked them into the knights' arms. A History of Halkegenia, 8th edition, A Young Mage's Guide to Magic, The Tristan Magical Creature Index, A Study of the Founder's Will, and The Legends of the Mystical Rhyme Dragons. The books covered a diverse a range of topics, most of which a foreigner would be expected to be curious about, but there were a few questionable exceptions to the bunch.
No one was willing to inform Gilgamesh that some of the books he pulled out were aimed at a significantly younger audience.
Once Gilgamesh had pulled his fill of books from the shelves—enough to reach the chins of both knights—he led his three escorts to a table. "Leave the books here," he ordered the two knights. "I would like to spend this time with my summoner."
Cain and Abel nodded. The two moved to stand by the library's door, still within sight of Gilgamesh and Louise. While their primary objective was to escort Gilgamesh, Warders had also requested that they keep an eye on Louise's safety as well. While the knights' primary loyalty was to their duty, they also kept their commander's request in mind.
When Gilgamesh had sent the two knights away, Louise had expected that he would take the time to speak to her in confidence. Her expectations withered as one hour, then a second passed by without a word from Gilgamesh. The only sounds out of his mouth was the occasional hum or clucking of his tongue.
What surprised Louise even more was the speed at which Gilgamesh was going through the books. While she knew some people would go through books by scanning the table of contents before deciding if they wanted to read more, Gilgamesh went beyond that. Every book was opened to the table of contents, and then he would flip through the different sections and browse the pages in an almost arbitrary fashion. Louise would call his actions haphazard, but his ruby colored eyes were completely focused as he did so. How he was absorbing the information in the book so quickly, it was beyond her ability to know.
After two hours of near-silent reading, Gilgamesh closed the cover of the last book, his lips pursed in a scowl. "This is the best your country has to offer?" he said in disgust.
Louise almost jumped at the sudden words but managed to keep her wits about her. "Was there something in particular you were searching for, your majesty?" she asked.
"I was searching for entertainment," said Gilgamesh. He propped up his chin with a closed fist and leaned back in his seat. "In a world so similar yet so different from my own, I had hopes that your books would tell of something worthy of being gazed upon by my eyes."
"Nothing in those books interested you?" Louise asked in surprise.
"The books tell me of sights I have not seen, but they have yet to convince me that it would be worth my while," Gilgamesh responded. "Honestly, it seems that this world is only a pale comparison to my own garden."
The insult stung, but Louise supposed that books couldn't truly show the wonders of Halkegenia. So, she decided to take a different approach. "If I may ask, what is your garden—kingdom, like?"
"Oh?" Gilgamesh's gaze focused on Louise, his eyes dancing with curiosity. "And why do you want to know?"
Because she was bored and it was awkward listening to him complain all the time, not that she would say so out loud. "Your majesty is always speaking fondly of his homeland," Louise began. "I would like to know more about it, if you wish to tell me, that is."
A smile spread across Gilgamesh's face. Louise felt herself relax as she saw amusement in the king's expression. "I will tell you of the wonders of Babylonia in due time," he said. "For now, there is something more pertinent I must address."
"I am at your command, your majesty."
Without warning, Gilgamesh's armor flew off in gold flecks. A storm of golden glitter swirled around his form and coalesced into an outfit that wouldn't look out of place at a noble function: a white button-down shirt, a pair of black pants, with a black cloak draped across his back.
"Did your majesty use transmutation to alter his attire?" Louise asked in surprise. Transmutation was easy to use on dirt or stone, but was harder to apply on metals and the like. Gold, Louise knew from her Earth Magic classes, was difficult enough to require square class magic to transmute. Changing gold armor into cloth was a feat Louise had never heard of.
"Louise, the first thing you must do in my presence is rid yourself of your ignorant, preconceived notions," Gilgamesh ordered. "I have tolerated it long enough, but even my abundant patience grows weary of repeatedly hearing foolishness coming from the mouth of someone with as much potential as yourself."
Louise mentally ran over that extensively confusing sentence. Hidden behind the spiteful words, she caught a remark of genuine praise. However…
"I am unworthy of such praise."
Unfortunately, that seemed to be the wrong response, as Gilgamesh's face hardened. "Do you think a king gives out those words idly?" he asked Louise.
"No, your majesty."
"Then you wish to spit on my generosity?"
"Not all, your majesty! I am…" Louise hesitated for a moment, but after glancing into Gilgamesh's piercing ruby eyes, she continued, "I am known by my peers as Louise the Zero. My spells always result in explosions, and the only spell that hasn't completely failed summoned you instead of a familiar. I apologize, your majesty, but your words are wasted on someone like me. I am a failure of a mage, and completely unworthy of your majesty's time and expectations."
Louise bowed her head at the end of her speech, waiting for the ridicule to begin. She had rejected his honoring words and admitted to her fundamental weakness. While she no longer feared that he would kill her, she had no doubt that he would reject her presence. However, after several seconds had passed and she heard nothing, she risked a glance up at Gilgamesh's face. The king looked… contemplative.
"You truly believe you have no worth."
The way he said it made the words sting even more. "I apologize, your majesty."
"I have no need for empty words," Gilgamesh stated. "I have tolerated far too many of them today. You, Louise, my summoner, are ignorant and weak. You have accepted your shortcomings without daring to improve, leaving you as only a fraction of what you could be. And yet, despite being only a withered bud, you are the flower that has caught my eye in this entire garden."
"I'm sorry…?" Louise responded uncertainly.
Gilgamesh gave her a look of pity and mockery; it was hard to tell which was the stronger trait. "You are very fortunate that your potential outweighs your disappointment thus far. Since you are lacking in understanding, I will make this clear for you." He leaned forward in his chair. "Do you wish to be known as Louise the Zero, a reject among rejects? Or, do you wish to rise to your rightful place ruling over these mongrels?"
With those two options, the answer was obvious.
"The princess Henrietta is the rightful ruler," Louise said firmly. "I have no desire to usurp her authority, and I would appreciate if you did not insinuate such!" After a moment of horror to realize who she had just yelled at, she added a weak, "I mean no offense, your majesty."
Gilgamesh chuckled, surprising Louise yet again. She still couldn't understand his frequent mood swings.
"You have bite, but not when it comes to yourself," Gilgamesh remarked. "Very well, I suppose that is the best I can hope for in a world of such lack." He stood up from his seat and turned with a flourish of his cloak. "Follow me."
Confusion did not slow Louise as she immediately rose from her chair and followed after Gilgamesh, who was walking between a row of shelves that was thickly packed with books. A golden portal suddenly opened in front of him and, without breaking his stride, he walked through it, disappearing from sight. Louise instinctively ground her feet into the floor, paused, and considered her options. She could follow Gilgamesh through the strange glowing circle, or she could wait for him to come back, probably angry that she didn't obey his command to "follow him".
In the end, it wasn't much of a choice.
Louise held her breath and stepped through the glowing circle. Her skin could feel the change of atmosphere. She hesitantly opened her eyes, and then they widened in shock as she gazed upon all the riches that surrounded her. Artefacts, weapons, jewelry, coins, all were on display in a manner that was both chaotic and awe-inspiring.
"How is this possible?" Louise asked as she gazed around in wonder. "Is this a part of the library? No, I've never heard of such a place existing in the castle." Her eyes trailed on Gilgamesh, who striding through the room of treasures like he owned the place. Which, she quickly realized, he probably did. There was no magic that she knew off that allowed people to travel from one place to another in the blink of an eye, but it would explain how he was able to summon objects on a whim. Rather than transmutation, he used this strange magic to link places. It was unfathomable, but it was the only assumption she could make.
Louise continued to follow Gilgamesh as they strolled through the treasure trove, stopping only when Gilgamesh took a seat a long, comfy-looking, red silk cushion. "Have a seat," said Gilgamesh, as he indicated a slightly less ornate, but just as expensive looking, couch opposed to him. "There is a lot to discuss, so do avoid asking unnecessary questions."
Remembering their earlier conversation, Louise carefully asked, "May I ask questions I believe to be necessary?"
Gilgamesh smiled as he leaned back into his cushion. "I see you are learning. Yes, Louise, you may ask any question you believe to be worthy of my time." He stretched out his hand and another gold circle appeared. He pulled out a gold pitcher from it. A second circle dropped an empty golden goblet into his other hand. "Drink?"
Louise wasn't supposed to drink at her age, but she also knew it was rude to turn down an offered drink when she was a guest. Doubly so when the offer came from royalty. "Yes, thank you."
Gilgamesh rather than get up and pass the container to Louise, Gilgamesh summoned another portal and dropped the pitcher through it. Louise, having deduced the transportation method, was ready to catch it when a circle appeared in her lap, and a second appeared on her side to deliver another goblet. Once again, the item she was offered looked different from Gilgamesh's, but appeared just as expensive. The goblet was solid gold, but had a different design engraved on its rim compared to the king's cup.
Louise, remembering the wine etiquette she had observed at her parent's social functions, filled the cup only halfway. A golden opened in front of her when she was finished pouring, so she gingerly lowered the pitcher into the floating circle. Then she raised her cup to her lips and took a sip, all while Gilgamesh looked on in open amusement. The wine wasn't sharp like she expected. In fact, it was fruity and sweet, with only the sharp buzz to remind her that it was an alcoholic beverage.
Gilgamesh let out a content sigh as he put his cup to the side. "Normally, I wouldn't go through the trouble of explaining all this to the one who summoned me," Gilgamesh began. "After all, any magi who fails to recognize me is merely a mongrel unworthy to gaze upon my visage. However, you clearly have no foundation, and if left to your own devices your progress will be minimal at best, negative at worst. Therefore, I will grace you with a basic understanding of our current situation and relationship."
"Relationship?" Louise echoed instinctively. Gilgamesh raised an eyebrow. "My apologies, your majesty, but I assumed you were not interested in me."
"You are the only person who interests me in this odd world," Gilgamesh informed her. "However, you pale in comparison to my ideal woman." Louise was perfectly fine with falling short of his standards in that area. "I was referring to your status as my summoner."
That bode ill for Louise's life expectancy. "Does your majesty request compensation for being summoned away from his homeland?" she guessed. "I have no assets of my own, and the wealth of my family is clearly nothing compared to yours."
"That's least foolish statement you've made during this entire conversation," Gilgamesh noted. "No, Louise, I require nothing of monetary value from you. Rather, something more personal. And before you ask," he added, noticing her open her mouth, "no, I will not claim your undying loyalty. At least, not at this time."
Louise wracked her brain for anything else Gilgmesh could want from her. He didn't want her affections or loyalty, and she had nothing physical she could offer him either. After a few seconds of deep thought, she confessed, "I'm not sure what I could offer you, your majesty, that you do not have already."
"Your mana. Or as you 'mages' call it, your Willpower."
Louise blinked. "I beg your pardon?" she said in confusion. "My magic doesn't work properly—"
"Mana, not magic. Regardless, your magic is perfectly intact," Gilgamesh interrupted. "In fact, it is far superior to that of the mongrels I've seen so far—what few remain, not cowering behind closed doors. Regardless, it is rightfully mine, as is custom for a summoning such as the one you performed."
"You mean my summoning, isn't new?" Louise asked.
"That is what I said. Do avoid pointless questions."
"But I've never heard of such a thing!"
"Of course not," Gilgamesh scoffed. "Your books are filled enough mindless dribble to make any proper magus shed tears of blood."
"The books are based on the works of the Founder, the greatest mage in Halkegenian history!"
"Yes, yes, I see you magi refer to Brimir as a god among men," Gilgamesh said with a lazy swirl of his hand. "It was painful to read, insulting even. If he was a citizen of Babylonia, he'd be fine court mage, yes, but divinity? That joke is so distasteful I can't even laugh."
Gilgamesh took a long draught of his wine and let out an ah of satisfaction. "I suppose that when mongrels roam about without direction, that is the highest feat they can aspire to. But let us not waste time with the dead." He put his cup aside and looked Louise in the eye. "Make yourself comfortable, Louise, for I will only say this once. Do not interrupt, especially with any more of that idiotic founder drivel. Understood?"
Louise, while insulted on behalf of the Founder, nodded. Gilgamesh clearly knew things she did not, which meant despite his arrogance, this could be the greatest learning opportunity she could have in her life.
"Beyond the concept of space and time exists a place where legends are personified. It is known as the Throne of Heroes…"
Louise's eyes were vacant as she stepped through the portal. She had been given too much information to properly process. Throne of Heroes. Heroic Spirits. Servants. Masters. Holy Grails. Other Worlds. It was so crazy that if someone else had told her such a tale, she would have called them a terrible liar. But she couldn't think that of Gilgamesh. His opinion was colored, for certain, but he spoke the truth as he saw it. His presence and magic already served as proof that what Louise had learned throughout her entire life wasn't all that existed in the realm of possibilities.
To think that she, Louise de la Valliere, Louise the Zero, had summoned a king from a bygone age of another world. The title of Servant was a grievous misnomer for such summons. Louise couldn't fathom trying to enforce her will on any person from legends, even if she had acquired Command Seals.
Louise blinked as she realized that they were not dropped off in the library, but rather Gilgamesh's bedroom. "How did we get here?" she asked.
"My Gates of Babylon take me wherever I please," Gilgamesh replied, as if that explained everything. "Run along now and go inform our escorts of our return."
Louise moved to the door, but before she opened it, she turned back and asked, "Your majesty, earlier you said that Servants are summoned as one of seven classes, yes?"
"That is correct."
"So… which class did I summon you as?"
Gilgamesh smirked. "Which one, I wonder? You surely don't expect me to do all the work for you, do you, Louise?"
"No, your majesty," Louise replied with disappointment. But that certainly would have helped her understand more about him.
"Good," Gilgamesh said. "If you wish to be a proper Master instead of a mere summoner, do try to impress me in the next few days. If you succeed, I will acknowledge you and grant you the power you will deserve. Fail, and you will remain as you are, nothing."
Louise stifled bowed before exiting the room. The challenge was set, and she had every intention to not only achieve, but surpass Gilgamesh's expectations.
Gilgamesh watched her go with a smirk on his lips. "Will you rise to be the greatest mage in Halkegenia, or will you fall under the weight of the world?" he wondered aloud. "Either way, Louise de la Valliere, you will provide entertainment worthy of a king."
Quick Note: I'm not going to write out the entire Nasuverse lore in a monologue. Next chapter Gil and Louise will discuss the important bits with a VIP. The bit at the end is meant to be a hint of what the conversation entailed.
I got a lot to say, but I'll try to make this quick:
Hopefully this chapter has answered some questions people have had, or at least given some hints. I would answer people's questions more directly, but I want to surprise people with something so I can feel clever. These extra months of research have allowed me to confirm the angle I'm taking for Gilgamesh. He's not as antagonistic as his appearance from FSN, but he's not as nice as his appearance in FGO, and this is all for good reasons I am deriving from his deceptively intricate character.
Also, I see why more people don't use Gil, especially adult Gil, as a character. I knew he was going to be trouble when I chose him. I wanted to make him an example of how some characters are really hard to put into some crossovers due to personality and power... but man, I underestimated Gilgamesh. Chapter 3 will feature an Omake of how badly Gilgamesh's personality goes against anything resembling a stable plot. If I could reach through my screen and strangle his ego into submission, I would.
Before I forget, there's a POLL on my profile for what stories I should focus on in the upcoming months. The poll includes the 5 ongoing stories I have for the Louise Summons series, and three potential stories. The potential story with the highest votes by October 2nd will get their first chapter on October 31st. For the ongoing stories, since I barely managed to get 4 chapters done this month (and that's mostly because I backlogged to upload on my birthday earlier this week) I'm trying to get 3-4 stories on high priority. It doesn't guarantee that those stories will be monthly, since inspiration is a big factor, but it encourages me to spend more time in what people want to see.
Final note, I have a Ko-Fi under the name "RainEStar". During October I'll be having a Ko-Fi exclusive poll/discussion to determine my next one-shot. It's Covid time, so I know people don't have money to burn, but I'd appreciate any financial support.
Aight, that's enough talking/writing. I've got studying to do, and if you've bothered to read this entire A/N, I know you want to move on to other things. I love to hear back from you guys, so remember, reviews are food for a writer's soul!