His Royal Majesty, King-Emperor Armin Augustus Black, was revered as a wonderful ruler by his subjects. He was quite proud of his empire’s wealth, and was often dressed ornately. Today was no different. He wore fine silk pants and a royal blue coat that sported gold tassels and buttons atop a crisp white dress shirt. Delicate lace ruffles showed at the neck and sleeves. His high black boots were newly shined, and his deep red cape was lined with gold trim and white fur. The cape alone was befitting a king and it regally swept the white marble floor as he paced back and forth. His bearing carried a sense of purpose and poise that only a monarch of many years could command, and his green eyes were filled with decades-worth of knowledge and experience. His immaculately groomed black hair was always neatly tied back at the nape of his neck. All told, he was usually the very picture of patience and grace.

Just not at this particular moment.

"A teenager!? Out of a portal!? Is this true!?" He stopped pacing the floor and turned to face the table of kings and queens, dukes and duchesses, and barons and baronesses who sat and watched him. While most of the assembled royals watched him anxiously, some showed a look of surprise at never having seen him so worried, and others sat with a look of indifference, arrogantly telling themselves that Armin’s current worries could never be as important as their own precious time or money or social standing.

"Is it!?" King Armin demanded again, as an angry spray of spittle was sent flying from his mouth. His lips became a hard, flat line as he struggled to control his temper.

"Yes, it is indeed true, m'lord." A voice spoke up, and a figure swathed in a long white cloak stepped towards the monarch. He was followed by a parade of silent followers, with faces all hidden under their immaculate white hoods.

Armin allowed a quick hiss of breath to escape his gritted teeth as his emerald eyes sharpened in surprise and worry.

"Chancellor? Are you certain? This news is true?"

The chancellor bowed deeply, nodding his head. "Yes." He stood, gesturing towards the column of white-clothed figures behind him. They were the Pristine Knights. They alone were permitted to bear weapons in the King-Emperor’s presence, and their swords glittered with wear instead of ornamentation. They were a lethal force of elites, known for their skill, their utter lack of mercy, and their fanatic loyalty.

"Bring the boy forward!"

The white sea parted, and two of the Pristine Knights strode forward, an oddly dressed boy hooked through their arms. They thrust him ahead and he stumbled but then caught himself, looking around. He was wearing some sort of strange tunic with a hood attached. His pants were made out of an unknown blue fabric, and on his feet he wore shoes of a design never before seen in this world. Armin took in all of these details in an instant, and found that the most interesting thing about this boy was how absolutely dull he appeared to be despite his odd choice of attire. It is not necessary to describe the boy’s appearance - instead, just picture the most boring-looking person imaginable. He looked just like that. In jeans.

Armin took note of the boy, but said nothing. He was aware that there were kingdoms and cities all over the world, and they all dressed quite differently from one another. No matter how oddly this boy appeared to be, the King-Emperor’s foremost consideration was to uphold the integrity of himself, of his bloodline, and of his empire.

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and walked toward the boy, hands behind his back and head raised.

"What is your name, boy?"

The boy seemed to take note of him only then, looking up at him with eyes that were impossible to read. Armin decided that the boy’s expression was either extreme disgust or extreme disinterest. Either expression was unacceptably rude.

"I am Generic Name.” said the boy.

Armin froze for a moment as the boy spoke. After a heartbeat, his shoulders slumped and he took a deep breath.

"Oh." He cleared his throat once more, standing straighter than before and holding his head even higher. "Well, Generic Name, how did you come to find this kingdom?"

"I dunno." Generic Name said, shrugging with the ease of someone who was not at that moment in the presence of royalty. His expression did not change and neither did the tone of his voice. Armin was unsure what this meant. The boy continued speaking.

"I was just…minding my own business or whatever, and then this huge portal opened up out of nowhere, and I thought 'yeah, I got nothing better to do. My parents aren't gonna wonder where I am at all.' And then I kinda just…jumped in."

"Portal… a… portal, you say?"

"Yeah. Pretty much."

"Was this portal glowing green, and did it have my crest on it!?" Armin asked, grabbing Generic Name roughly by the shoulders. He pointed to a button on his coat, with a depiction of a roaring lion engraved into it. "Yeah, that was it." Generic Name said, his expression and tone of voice as bland and boring and disinterested as ever.

Armin cursed under his breath, letting go of Generic Name as he stumbled backwards, touching a hand to his face.

"A portal… with my crest… that means… you were summoned to my kingdom. Maybe even from another world."

"Of course he was summoned, sire. We summoned him here ourselves."

Armin doubled over suddenly and made a sound like he had tried to swallow a live frog. He straightened again, turning to glare at the chancellor, who had just spoken. His eyes looked like hard, green ice, and his forehead, which had begun to bulge, now began throbbing along with the beat of his rapidly quickening pulse.

"Why would you summon a teenager from another world!? I gave no such order!" The King-Emperor strode toward the chancellor and his Pristine Knights.

"But sire, you should be overjoyed. Elated. The prophecy-"

"Now there's a prophecy!? Another thing you haven't told me! What does this prophecy say exactly?"

"That if we opened a portal to another world, a hero would come through it. Using his great magical prowess, he would save the world from the Demon King!"

"Eh!? A…a hero!? This boy!? Him!?" The king turned to point a long finger at Generic Name, who's expression suggested he was either day-dreaming or sleep-walking.

"Yes, sire. A hero with the power to save the entire world."

"You fools. You have doomed us all." King Armin could not speak of the contents of his secret library. The tales held within those dusty volumes haunted his dreams. He knew what came next.

The dull boy suddenly spoke up.

"Magic? Can I really do that?" Generic Name looked down at his open palm. He blinked, then raised his hand, holding it at shoulder level, palm up.

"Alright. I've never done this before, but okay. I’ll give it a shot."

A small black ball of energy appeared in the middle of Generic Name's palm. The ball grew to cover his palm, then became the size of his whole hand. A current of wind began to curl itself around Generic Name's body. The black ball of energy turned white, and bands of color streaked from the ball, snaking around Generic Name's hand. Generic Name raised his hand above his head and the energy ball grew many sizes bigger. He looked up toward the high, glass-domed ceiling of the room they were in. The boy closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, they were gold in color, a shining, piercing gold that shamed the jewelry of the rapt nobles watching him.

"Up."

The large energy ball flew up, blasting through the domed ceiling. Glass shards showered those below as the energy ball flew higher up stiil, until it was nothing more than a white twinkle in the wide blue of the sky.

"Boom." said Generic Name, in a bored voice.

There was a huge rush of energy and the energy ball burst apart in a gigantic explosion, the shock wave felt even from the ground.

"Wha…what?" Armin gasped, hands shaking.

"Huh." Generic Name said, rubbing the back of his neck with a hand. "I was trying to hold back, but I guess I didn't do a very good job."

"You were… holding back!?" Armin said softly, stunned at the awesome power that had been unleashed before his very eyes. The secret records were all too true. This boy had all of the signs. His unbelievably boring appearance. His complete lack of emotions or personality. His amazing power. His name literally being Generic Name! He was…

"He's…an Isekai Protagonist!" Armin sobbed, grabbing his head in his hands and falling to his knees.

"A…what, sire?"

"The Demon King might be destroyed, but we will be too! They almost completely destroyed this kingdom many, many years ago with their unbelievably overpowered abilities. We tried hiring assassins to take them out, but they were all immediately defeated by huge swords, or lasers, or huge laser swords. I had hoped that the stories weren’t true but…THEY'RE REAL!" Armin leaned his head back and yelled long and loud, then slumped forward, sighing defeatedly.

"We're doomed. Chancellor, you're fired."