"...Mm."
When I forced my heavy eyelids open, a stark white ceiling and fluorescent lights poured into view. The sharp stink of disinfectant stabbed at my nose, and I frowned without meaning to.
My head felt foggy, and my whole body ached like I'd been beaten black and blue.
It was probably the backlash from forcing open my Magic Circuits and fighting battle after battle. Just as I let out a groan and tried to shift,
"Ah, you're awake, husband. Don't push yourself getting up. Stay still."
A familiar, sweet voice reached me from somewhere, and cool hands slipped behind my back to carefully raise my upper body.
As my vision cleared, the first thing I saw was Shuten-Douji's face. She was holding a cup of water to my lips, smiling in relief.
"Drink slowly. If you rush it, you'll choke."
As the lukewarm water slid down my throat, the dryness in my esophagus finally eased, and my mind began to clear.
On Shuten-Douji's other side, Baobhan Sith was clutching the hem of my clothes tightly, letting out a relieved sigh.
"...This is Chaldea's infirmary, isn't it?"
"That's right. Do you have any idea how worried we were while you were out cold in this room for three whole hours?"
Baobhan Sith snapped at me, but at the same time she rubbed her cheek against the back of my hand, seeking warmth.
The two evil women who loved me blindly. And Kojiro too, leaning against the doorway of the hospital room with a faint smile.
But behind them, I noticed another figure standing stiffly in one corner of the room.
It was Olga Marie.
The moment she saw I was awake, she flinched. Yet she could neither come closer nor step back, fidgeting in obvious distress.
She looked like a puppy that had done something terribly wrong and was waiting for its owner to decide its punishment.
Reading her tangled emotions at a glance, I gave a light cough and spoke in a calm, gentle voice.
"You don't look well. Are you hurting anywhere?"
At that one worried question, Olga Marie's shoulders jerked hard. Keeping her head lowered, she clenched her skirt in both hands and spoke in a trembling voice.
"Don't you... resent me?"
"Resent you?"
"Back in the Singularity... I gagged at you, looked at you like you were some disgusting insect, and insulted you. Even though you still saved me..."
Her voice grew wet, and at the end it broke with tears.
"...I'm so, so sorry. More than anyone, I should never have done that. Even knowing about that horrible curse and pain you carry, I couldn't control one pathetic instinct, and I left another scar on your heart!"
She stepped up to the bedside and lowered her head as if she were about to drop to her knees.
An apology.
A strange word I had never once heard from anyone in my life.
I was always hated unfairly, and even when I was the one who got hurt, the world treated it as natural. No one had ever asked my forgiveness.
That was why seeing her cry and apologize to me so sincerely gave me a strange, ticklish feeling.
I bent forward on the bed and carefully placed a hand on top of her trembling head.
"...You don't need to apologize."
Startled by my touch, she looked up at me. Tears gathered in her eyes and spilled down.
"I'm used to it in the first place. People hating me is because of my constitution, not because of anything you did. You don't have to apologize."
"But...!"
"If anything, this is the first time anyone's ever apologized to me like this, so it feels pretty strange. So lift your head now. Don't cry."
At my calm but gentle encouragement, Olga Marie bit down hard on her lower lip.
"No. That was all because I was weak. Never again, not ever again, will I leave you to suffer in that horrible isolation."
A fierce resolve blazed in her eyes.
"From now on, I'll do anything for you. If the whole world brands you evil and points its blades at you, then I'll reduce that world to ashes myself. For your sake, I'll give everything I have. So... please, let me stay by your side."
A savage, destructive vow from the President of Earth U-Olga Marie.
To be honest, the scale of it was a little overwhelming, but the look in her eyes said she'd refuse to back down even if I rejected her. I let out a small sigh and gave her an awkward smile.
"Well, I'd rather you didn't turn the world to ashes. But you're always welcome to stay by my side. Let's get along from here on out... Olga."
The moment I called her Olga so familiarly, her cheeks turned red as a tomato.
"O-Olga...? W-well, fine. Call me whatever you want. I'm your Servant, after all."
Just as she stammered and flushed in embarrassment,
"Hah? That's so ridiculous I could die laughing. A minute ago you were bawling your eyes out saying sorry, and now that our husband showed you a little kindness, you're already wagging your tail?"
"Exactly. You think you can just slither naturally into Master's side like that? Learn your place."
Shuten-Douji and Baobhan Sith cut in on either side of Olga Marie, pouring out murderous intent.
The warm, touching reunion from moments ago vanished without a trace, and the infirmary instantly turned into the battlefield of a vicious catfight.
"W-who are you calling a tail-wagger? I merely made a proper vow to my Master...!"
"Quiet. I was the first one to give husband a lap pillow, and I was the first one to feed him too! Newcomers ought to stay crushed over there!"
The three overwhelmingly powerful Servants bickered and shoved at each other. In the process, the bowl of rice porridge Kojiro had set neatly on the table tipped over and crashed to the floor.
Crash!
"Ah."
"Oh dear."
All three evil women froze at once as they stared at the white porridge spilled across the floor. Kojiro clicked his tongue and pressed a hand to his forehead.
"Good grief. The meal I carefully brought for Master has ended up kissing the floor."
I looked at the overturned porridge and let out a deep sigh. My stomach had been burning with hunger.
"...Calm down, all of you. I'll clean this up, so let's just go get something to eat first. I'm starving to death."
I got down from the bed and started roughly gathering up the spilled porridge and shards of glass. The sight of the three Servants glancing at me and fumbling awkwardly with themselves was oddly amusing.
After cleaning up and just before leaving the infirmary, I turned my head slightly and looked at the girl sleeping soundly in the next bed.
Fujimaru Ritsuka.
The true protagonist of this world.
The savior who would shine while receiving the love of everyone in the world, and me, the one who walked through the shadows while receiving everyone's hatred.
I had no idea when our paths would cross, or what kind of friction that meeting would bring.
Pushing that heavy thought into one corner of my mind, I left the infirmary.
On the way to Chaldea's cafeteria, the corridor was thankfully almost empty.
As I walked, I decided to use the two random Craft Essence summoning tickets I'd obtained from restoring Singularity F.
[Summoning...]
A silver ring spun, and two cards settled into my hand.
[Craft Essence: Deception (★2). Effect: When used, manifests countless black shadow hands in midair to bind enemies or control them freely like tentacles.]
Hmm?
[Craft Essence: Rune Stone (★3). Effect: Throws a stone engraved with runes to briefly deploy a sturdy barrier within a 5-meter radius that defends against physical and magical attacks.]
Oh, these are pretty solid.
They didn't have the power to land a finishing blow on the level of a Servant, but in terms of utility, they were excellent.
The shadow hands of Deception could be used for tricky plays like blocking an enemy's vision or tying up their legs, and Rune Stone gave me an immediate defensive option.
Especially for someone like me, whose Magic Circuits were open but who couldn't use any offensive or defensive Magecraft at all, Craft Essences like these were like rain after a drought.
Smiling in satisfaction, I bound the Craft Essence cards to myself.
"Husband, something good happen? You've got a grin leaking out of the corner of your mouth."
"No, nothing. Let's just go eat already."
I answered Shuten-Douji's teasing and quickened my pace toward the cafeteria.
At that same time, inside the infirmary lit only by pale light,
after Yaiba's group had left and only silence remained, the steady beeping of the heart monitor began to speed up ever so slightly.
"...Mm, ngh."
Frost gathered inside the oxygen mask, and with a faint groan, a girl slowly opened her eyes.
Orange-tinged hair. Clear, transparent eyes.
Fujimaru Ritsuka, Chaldea's last Master, was finally waking from her long coma.
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