The knight who had been blown away by the mana burst rose, dusting himself off. He had been drenched in blood from the lion beasts, but the lightning from earlier had burned it all away. He walked back as though nothing had happened.
Until they made their contract, he had been covered in blood and had not spoken a word, so they had no way of knowing his purpose and had remained wary of him.
He appeared out of nowhere and helped us. He noticed Enkidu approaching and attacked, immediately seeing through his intentions. And even before the contract, he held his own against those countless chains—the Chains of Heaven—to some extent. Then, the moment we made the contract, he completely overwhelmed and drove back even Enkidu. Was I incredibly rude to him? Did I make some absurd misunderstanding when he was simply trying to help us?
Mash's face turned red as she floundered over that realization. Meanwhile, Ritsuka looked at the knight before them in admiration.
"I think we've ended up working with an incredible Servant. But he hasn't said a word this entire time. Can't he speak?"
The knight nodded in affirmation. At last, the misunderstanding was cleared up, and Mash hurriedly bowed her head.
"I'm sorry! I misunderstood you. Since you didn't speak, I thought you might have some ulterior motive!"
The knight nodded to say it was fine, accepting her apology, then tried to leave again in search of the road.
"So, where are you from, Sir Knight? I've never seen or heard of armor like that before. Ah, but you said you can't speak. I'm sorry..."
"He is the Counter Force's first and last Servant. An unidentified Servant first sent twelve thousand years before the Common Era to suppress the White Titan. He must have been sent here because this Singularity shows signs of destruction. Wait, wait! Please don't throw that!"
At the sudden voice, the knight turned around and raised his hand axe, ready to throw it. But the cry stopped him, and he returned it to the pouch at his waist. There stood a hooded mage and a purple-haired child carrying a scythe.
She's about the same size as Miquella?
"Master, could you please keep your Servant under control? Getting attacked out of nowhere is enough to make even my spine go cold, you know. By way of introduction, I'm Merlin, and this one is..."
"Die, Merlin! Fou!"
At once, the white animal that had been bothering him since earlier suddenly appeared, leaped at the man calling himself Merlin, and punched? him flat on his back. It then continued relentlessly beating him up.
"Merlin, please shut your mouth. No, just die. More importantly, please don't look. Just die."
After the brief commotion passed, night fell, and they took the time to explain the situation and introduce themselves again. He also learned that the Enkidu from earlier had not been the real one, but a fake.
"This is Merlin, and that's Ana. And..."
"He has no name."
"What?"
"There are no records. All we know is that he was the first Servant contracted by the Counter Force, that he suddenly appeared, suppressed the White Titan, and bought time for the Holy Sword to be completed."
"So..."
"There's only a record of someone physically subduing the Titan before suddenly appearing and disappearing. There's truly nothing else. Like a Titan that fell straight from the sky. Not his name, where he lives, or even what's inside that armor."
"Then could you take off that helmet?"
Ritsuka stepped closer and urged him on. As everyone watched expectantly without anyone stopping her, he removed his helmet. The instant he did, silence fell.
"Uh... how should I put this? I thought some kind of monster would be under there, but he's just ordinary."
"To think I suspected someone like this... Not being able to speak wasn't a crime. I'm sorry again!"
"He's the one who subdued that Titan with that face?"
"He does seem less frightening when his face is visible."
Of course they reacted exactly like I did. At first, I heard you were the Mad Dog.
Stop...
His hair had lost its color and become ash-gray, while his eyes gleamed like gold, sometimes even sparking with lightning.
But that was all. He was just an ordinary person. What could someone like him have done to obtain such strength, and how?
After a short conversation, they settled down to sleep. Then, for the first time in a long while, he had a dream. The place was filled with mist. A dragon fell within it, and there stood a knight, covered in blood. His armor was different, but it was unmistakably him.
Beyond him, countless dragon corpses had formed a mountain. Then the dream ended, and his vision went dark. Had that been the world where the knight came from?
Days passed. As they headed for Uruk, following Merlin's guidance and listening to his explanations, they finally arrived at the Ziggurat where Gilgamesh awaited.
"Hm? So you're the one. I heard you subdued that Titan, but you're smaller than I expected. I heard you cut off its eye and arm. You did well to cut them off."
He met Gilgamesh and fought him briefly. Gilgamesh was holding back, and he responded in kind. Gilgamesh slightly furrowed his brow, but soon relaxed.
Mash and Ana fight better than I expected. After the brief battle ended and they spoke for a while, he learned that they needed the Holy Grail in Gilgamesh's possession to repair this Singularity.
"I am busy. If you desire the Holy Grail, return once you have proven yourselves worthy."
"Then how about this? We will defeat the Three Goddess Alliance."
"What? Pfft.Bwahahahahahahahaha!"
At Ritsuka's bold declaration, Gilgamesh burst out laughing. In the middle of his laughter, Ishtar intruded. It seemed she had come to retrieve something.
"That's what I'm saying! I'm... Huh? Why are you here? No, no. How could a monster like you be here?"
That kind of hurts.
That's hilarious. Calling you a monster with that face. Pffft!
Shut... be quiet.
"Ah, that knight. I truly dislike him. To think he held back while fighting me. Why is that? Does he remind you of the past, perhaps?"
"Uh... I've done what I came to do, so I'll be going now!"
Leaving the goddess, who had arrived only to flee moments later, Gilgamesh returned to his duties. He told them that if they wished to be useful, they should start with menial work, then ordered them out.
Afterward, Ritsuka, Mash, and Ana were led to their lodgings by someone named Siduri, where they met the others. Gilgamesh's faction had Servants such as Ushiwakamaru, Musashibou Benkei, and Leonidas I. There had been more, but due to circumstances, they were told that aside from Merlin, these were all who remained.
They made the place their Chaldean embassy and earned trust by handling all kinds of work. Reports of those efforts made their way to the Wise King.
It's been a while since I looked after children.
Mari used to leave the childcare to me.
I was busy too. Do you know how exhausting it was cleaning up after Radagon all day? Whenever I woke up, there was somehow even more work piled up. I hate being controlled by others, and the work kept increasing. That's why I'm with you. Do you understand how I feel?
I get it, I get it.
Still, these children are full of energy. Ah, except Miquella.
While everyone else worked, he took charge of looking after the children in the villages. He had raised children in the previous age, so caring for them in this era was not difficult. At first, he had come wearing his armor, and everyone had been frightened and run away. Now, though, he wore mage instructor's robes.
He had once visited the Carian royal family with Mari for political reasons, and these were clothes he had received as a gift then.
He had never worn them even once since receiving them, yet here he was, wearing them now. But did the children not realize he was the same person who had worn the armor before? They climbed onto his shoulders and clung to his legs.
Others said he looked hot, so he let them touch the robes and explained that they automatically produced a chill through magecraft artifacts woven into the cloth.
To everyone else, they probably just felt cool. Hmm. Is that why the children cling to me?
You're still popular with children. Miquella and Malenia liked you too.
What are you talking about?
There was no one around them but me, so of course they did.
And these children cling to me because I'm cool.
If that's what you think, then that's what it is.
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