THE MOMENT
"How would you feel if I kidnapped you to fight some scary sit for me?" Ethan, the summoned hero, filled the question with an obnoxious tone as he asked. The elderly advisor shook his head with a gentle smile.
"If you kidnapped me, I wouldn't be overly inclined to help...," he said.
"You see!?" Ethan replied at full volume. As soon as it became apparent that he wasn't an eager participant, the ancient advisor had taken him to a private study and out of the King's audience. They were the only two people in the room.
"But, that's not what happened in your case, and it's rather disingenuous to try and equate the two situations," the advisor added.
"I got pulled here away from my life, kidnapped to fight your battles!"
"'Kidnapped', implies a certain level of intention. There was no such thing when we cast the summoning. We only sought help without knowing what form it would take," the advisor said. "Not every happening can be attributed to deliberate intent, sometimes things just happen."
"Being summoned to another world doesn't 'just happen'!" Ethan replied. He was determined to give the blame to someone.
"I'm not sure I'd believe that from someone that it has happened to," the advisor chuckled.
"Because you cast a spell to summon me here!"
"That's where you're conflating things," the advisor smirked and shook his head again. "We had no idea you existed until you appeared in the King's throne room; no one targeted you for anything."
"You're arguing a point that doesn't even matter!" Ethan said. "I'm here, against my will, and I'm not going to lift a finger to help your kingdom."
"It's amusing that you think it doesn't matter...," the advisor said. "I don't think it does either; but, for something that doesn't matter, you're certainly letting it dictate your response."
"What are you talking about?" Ethan was understandably confused. His mind was still parsing out all the changes of being in a new world, and he hadn't even stepped out of the castle yet. "It doesn't matter whether it was intentional or not, I'm here now!" he raised his voice for the clarification. "And your kingdom's problems have nothing to do with me."
"Let's suppose you were in danger, on fire for some reason," the advisor said. "While the flames cooked your body, would it matter why you were on fire?"
"Of course not!" Ethan replied with the exhausted frustration of a teenager several years younger than him.
"Would you stand there, burning alive, refusing to put it out on principle because 'it happened against your will'?" The advisor asked. "Or would you be doing your utmost to try and suffocate the blaze?"
"I'd obviously put it out; but, it's not the same thing," Ethan shook his head.
"If not, then what's the difference?" The advisor asked. "All details aside, you have found yourself in a situation you would rather not be in. The way out requires work and risk; but, there is a way out."
Maybe whatever summoning spell brought Ethan to this new world had affected his brain. Maybe the advisor was accidentally kind of wise. But, somehow, his mind made sense of the situation when it was presented in that way. Helping the kingdom might be dangerous and he could die; he had the realization that everyday life could be simplified in the same manner. He didn't ask to be where he was; yet, if he didn't do anything he was definitely asking to stay there.
"Alright," Ethan nodded. "I guess tell me about this big scary Dark Lord."
"She is a mermaid...," the old advisor nodded. Despite the revelation, he did not even smile at the idea of a mermaid Dark Lord, though Ethan found it funny. He continued with a solemn voice that hinted at traumatizing horrors. "...her name is Majicka...,"