I returned to my true body.
This was the Reverse Side of the World. There had originally been nothing here, but Mari had turned it into a blue field so she would have somewhere comfortable to lie down. My power was still sealed.
That made things convenient, whether I was being summoned as a Servant, studying, or sleeping. A pleasant breeze was blowing, and I had just settled down to rest when a visitor arrived.
Unfortunately, it was an unwelcome visitor.
She was wearing strange clothes. A kimono, was it? I was pretty sure I had seen clothes like that in both the previous world and the Land of Reeds. But that was not what mattered. Her eyes were saying that a fun new toy had arrived.
"You're finally back, aren't you? Sir Knight of Eternity? Or should I call you Saber now?"
Ah.
"I was summoned there as a Saber once myself. Does that mean I should call you my junior now?"
She had been spying on me.
Did this girl have nothing better to do?
She spent all day trying to break through Mari's formula.
"That's right. There's nothing to do here, so I'm terribly bored. That means you need to keep me company, doesn't it?"
Please stop looking at me like that.
You're the scariest one here.
Still, at least that vampire was not here.
Thank goodness.
"Thinking about the True Ancestor Princess? Unfortunately, she's away at the moment. So, what did you do this time? Whatever you're doing is so thoroughly hidden that I can't see a thing."
Mari must have worked hard.
That was a relief.
If more people like this started gathering here, I would not be able to breathe.
Still, she was one of only two people I could talk to here, so I explained what I had done and what had happened in writing on the parchment Mari had given me.
Mari had been busy lately. She did not even talk to me, and whenever she came by, she only checked whether I had done my homework. She scolded me last time for not doing it, which was unfair. It was not that I had not done it. I just could not solve it.
"Interesting. Tiamat, huh? Last time, Alaya told you to hold Sefar back, and now she's putting you through hell again. Why not just live here? Why suffer for it? Here, you could achieve everything you want."
Sorry, but I have already made up my mind.
I am an outsider to those worlds anyway. No, an Outer God.
Nothing will change even if I sit still.
Nothing lasts forever.
I will accept that and move forward.
"Hmm... The knight you used to be would have hesitated, but that was an immediate answer. Did that goddess who became a Beast of Humanity teach you something? Perhaps something you have in common? Being rejected by the world?"
Maybe so.
"Ha... How boring. What a shame. I thought you would cut off my head like you did then. Well, you did not actually cut it off. It still stings, you know. Want to see?"
You were the one who picked a fight with me when I was a new resident here.
Go away now.
It is time for me to work.
I handed her the parchment and prepared to lie down. How long would this take? I hoped it would be somewhere nice, like Uruk.
"Really? I have something to do as well. It seems to involve someone you know, so perhaps I'll go take a look. We both have work to do, then. See you next time."
I still could not understand her.
She was always so vague.
Leaving the vanished Shiki behind, I lay down, closed my eyes, and let my consciousness sink once more. It always felt like I was dreaming. Though I had not dreamed even once since becoming a god.
**********
The year was 1994. The Fourth Holy Grail War.
Rendezvous with the Master.
Eliminate the cause of the destruction that will manifest here.
And this time, there would be no support...
It was nice of them to tell me when, but could they not at least tell me exactly what the cause was?
Was Alaya being spiteful?
No, wait. This might be Mari's doing again.
"This time, we decided there would be no support because it would be unfair."
?
?
?
?
Why are you here?
I turned around and saw long golden-blond hair that nearly touched the ground, eyes red as boiling blood, and that same expressionless face that revealed nothing of her thoughts.
It was that True Ancestor.
Why are you here?
"I still cannot read your thoughts, but your expression is easy enough to understand. What do you say? Shall we dance with our swords again after so long?"
Forget that. Are you my Master?
Glowing letters carved themselves into the ground. I had barely managed to learn how to leave writing on the floor. I still could not make letters float in midair.
"Yes. I am your Master. You even have Command Spells inscribed on you. Your current class is Ruler. What a shame. It would have been nice if you had been in the same class as me. You are a cancer upon the world, just as I am, are you not? Though the things we are a cancer upon are different."
That was a lot of unnecessary commentary.
So why did you come here?
Are you going to support me?
Then I would not have to worry about mana.
Though I should probably limit my lightning spear...
"I will only support you with mana. Ruler can handle everything else on your own. I'm bored, so report to me every day. I will be waiting here."
She vanished after saying she would be waiting at some hotel, leaving me all alone. This location was...
There were nothing but strange boxes around me.
So these were the cargo containers used to transport things?
This was different from Uruk again.
But I had been hearing the sound of blades striking each other for a while now.
I heard weapons clashing somewhere—or rather, a sword and spear colliding. Figuring that must be where my target was, I ran toward it and dropped into the middle of the fight.
"Ugh, who are you?"
"Tch!"
Dust rose from the thing that had suddenly dropped in. A green spearman and a blue-haired girl whose weapon was concealed by mana had been pointing their weapons at one another, but they stopped at the unexpected intrusion and warily faced the presence within the dust.
As the dust settled, a knight in strange armor emerged. At that instant, lightning crashed down from the sky.
That was not mine.
"All three of you, lower your weapons! You stand before a king!"
Who was this guy?
He was the complete opposite of King Gilgamesh.
"I am Iskandar, the King of Conquerors! Summoned to this Holy Grail War as the Rider! You there! Will you join me? I shall obtain the Holy Grail and..."
That was a long explanation.
So this was the fourth Holy Grail War in Fuyuki City.
There were seven classes. That man was Rider, the spearman was Lancer, and that mana-covered weapon was... a sword.
Then she was Saber.
It had been a while, King Gilgamesh.
Hmm.
This time, he was wearing armor.
And his temper somehow looked even worse.
A huge red-haired man descended from a strange chariot wreathed in lightning, accompanied by a man who seemed to be his Master. After the King of Conquerors finished his speech, King Gilgamesh appeared, this time clad in golden armor.
"Mongrels daring to call themselves kings in my presence. How insolent. Hmm?"
It has been a while.
Your Majesty.
"Who gave you permission to wave at me? Pay for that sin with your life, mongrel."
Huh?
Wait a second, Your Majesty.
Why are you so ill-tempered?
Aren't we friends?
I hurriedly drew the Bastard Sword and knocked aside every Noble Phantasm flying toward me. One of the deflected Noble Phantasms sliced through the streetlamp he was standing on, bringing him down to eye level with me.
Now we could talk.
"You bastard..."
?
"You made this heavenly body stand upon the same earth as you! Even your life is not enough to atone for that sin!"
Wait, let's just talk.
Why are you in such a hurry?
Countless Noble Phantasms deployed behind the Hero King as he prepared to attack. Then, out of nowhere, a knight who appeared to be a Berserker rushed in.
What was with this one?
"How dare you interrupt while I am speaking! Insolent fool!"
His target shifted from me to the Berserker. In that moment, they all vanished without leaving even the briefest opening, leaving only Saber and a white-haired, red-eyed woman behind.
What? That was too fast.
This was completely different from Uruk.
Getting to this mission's target was going to be difficult.
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