Among those who remained, the woman in white introduced herself as Irisviel von Einzbern.
That was an insanely long name.
I moved closer to write out a message myself, but Saber stepped in front of me.
"And who might you be? You do not seem to be a Saber."
Saber was awfully wary.
Understandably so, I suppose.
For some reason, she felt rather similar to me.
No, wait. Wasn't that the holy sword used to kill the giant god?
Why was it here?
She took my fascinated silence as evasiveness, and her guard rose even further. I wrote on the ground, explaining why I had come.
"You were summoned to prevent the destruction of the world? A Counter Guardian... a protector? But..."
Ugh... I supposed it was only natural for her to doubt me.
I wanted an opportunity to tell all seven of them once everyone had gathered. Was there no way to make that happen?
I missed Ritsuka.
With that thought, I turned to head back to the True Ancestor Princess.
"If you have nowhere to go, would you like to come to our castle? We met like this, so perhaps it is fate. What do you think?"
"Irisviel! That is..."
"But Saber, that knight helped you when Berserker attacked you, didn't he? Then perhaps he isn't a bad person?"
I had instinctively helped because it reminded me of when I killed the god of rot and its followers came charging at me like mad.
Was this a good thing?
That Berserker vanished as soon as his arm was cut off.
...Should I go?
But I had to report back.
Just as I was about to follow them, I remembered that the princess had told me to report in, so I indicated my refusal.
"All right! Our castle is in the forest over there, so come by! I'll repay you for helping us!"
"Irisviel, but... Very well. I thank you for your aid. The sword strike that severed Berserker's arm was remarkable. If an opportunity arises, let us have a rematch. Farewell."
If I had not made that promise, I would have simply left.
After leaving the warehouse by the shore, I changed into my mage professor's robes and went into the bustling downtown area to have a look around.
This place sure was peaceful.
People walked around so freely, and none of them even carried weapons.
Even in Leyndell back then, people went about armed.
As punishment for making a promise without asking me, I spent the entire day eating and wandering about. I encountered several Servants, but perhaps because I was wearing armor at the time, they only glanced at me before going on their way.
But why had Gilgamesh failed to recognize me?
Should I ask the princess?
By the time darkness had fallen, I reached the hotel she had mentioned. But why here? Going by her personality, I had expected her to build the Thousand-Year Castle right in the middle of the city. When I opened the door, all I saw was a dark room with no lights on.
What was this? Why was it so dark?
She certainly lived like a vampire.
But where had she gone?
I needed to report in.
I wanted to get it over with and try some of this world's delicious food.
At that moment, I felt someone's gaze from the ceiling. I turned and looked up, but something pinned me to the floor and bound both my hands.
"You remain far too insensitive to anything other than killing intent. Ah, that magical energy is truly unbearable. What could it possibly taste like? I cannot even remember how many times I fought for this moment, but it does not matter anymore."
Don't tell me you were doing all that on purpose?
"I cannot know, since I have never tasted it before, but this time..."
Wait, no!!!
Now that I looked closely, she had turned the entire room into the Thousand-Year Castle.
You really planned this out!
(Stop.)
I hurriedly wrote a message on the floor where the princess could see it, but she was so excited that it seemed she could not see anything at all. She brought her nose to my neck, inhaled several times, and opened her mouth.
I would not become one of the Dead Apostles, of course, but a powerful premonition surged through me that something would happen if I let this continue.
Get a grip, you crazy woman!!!
"It is useless. Direct Marble Phantasm does not work on you, but indirect applications do. And strangely enough, pure magical energy attacks affect you. Besides, you are an ordinary Heroic Spirit. I have already figured you out."
You only ever picked fights before, but now you have gotten crafty too.
I struggled, but she created chains through Marble Phantasm and bound my limbs. One hand wrapped around my neck while the other gripped my shoulder, and her fangs drew closer and closer to my throat.
Should I use lightning spears?
No, the Brass Dagger!!
Right, my hand!
Crunch.
Ghk.
I heard the princess drinking my blood, and my magical energy was drained at a terrifying rate.
How long was she going to drink?
A short time passed, though it felt unbearably long to me. She withdrew her fangs from my neck and raised her upper body. Drunk on ecstasy, her crimson eyes turned gold as she panted.
Ugh.
My head...
Of course, her Rainbow Mystic Eyes had not worked on me. I had the Elden Ring. But the sight of her blond hair and golden eyes reminded me of the Mari I had forgotten long ago. Only her blond hair and golden eyes had been burned into my mind, refusing to leave it.
And now that she had golden eyes as well, her image overlapped with Mari's. The room around us remained dark, yet only those golden eyes shone. Our gazes met, my thoughts multiplied, and my mind grew distant. Just as her face began to draw close—
KRA-BOOM!!!!
The room, transformed into the Thousand-Year Castle, had already cracked under her excitement, and the hotel began to collapse. Who was that? I had nearly been drained dry and killed in the most ridiculous way possible.
The explosion snapped me back to my senses. I wrapped lightning spears around my limbs, shattered the chains, pulled her into my arms, smashed through the window, and leaped outside. I could not look at her right now. I would lose my mind again.
Descending the collapsing hotel, I kicked off and landed on another building, then ran again until I reached an empty alley.
It reminded me of when the followers of rot kidnapped Malenia. I had picked her up and run out of habit.
Was she all right? When I checked on her, her Mystic Eyes had faded and returned to crimson, but she was still drunk with ecstasy. Was it really that good? I had nearly died.
"Ahhh. Such absurd magical energy in even a single drop of blood. And that sweet flavor... I cannot bear it. By the way, why did the hotel collapse? It is unfortunate, but I have already achieved my goal, so it no longer matters."
This would not do.
She was another Jaguar Man.
Oh, right. Gilgamesh.
(Long ago. Friend. Met him. But. He does not. Remember me.)
"Ah, the Servant? The one you met in the previous world? Did Alaya not tell you? How lazy of her. What do you say? Why not make a contract with me this time?"
According to the princess, Heroic Spirits almost never inherited their memories. So it was up to Alaya.
Gilgamesh's barrage of Noble Phantasms, then.
That would be rather troublesome.
"I would like to build the Thousand-Year Castle here, but... I do not particularly feel like it, so shall we make somewhere else our base? Hmm. There is a castle in that forest, so we shall take that one. Now, escort me."
Saber and her Master were over there, though.
I would rather not run into them if I could help it.
Still, the princess was my Master.
Armor formed over my body. I lifted her again, one arm beneath her knees and the other supporting her shoulders, then ran toward Einzbern Castle. Were Lancer, Saber, and Caster confronting each other over there? Things were getting complicated.
It looked as though their fight would be settled soon.
More importantly, where was the road?
Where was the castle?
"How can you be this bad at finding your way? It would be faster if I walked myself."
I know.
More importantly...
(Do not. Speak. I will bite. My tongue.)
I ran straight toward the fading life force, only to find the white woman named Irisviel with a hole in her abdomen. But by the time I arrived, her wound was already healing. What was this? Did she have some kind of blessing? Beside her, a green-haired woman with short hair was coughing up blood.
"Hmm. Is that the scabbard of a relative? She will live on her own. More importantly, the castle is over there. Let us go."
I still wanted to at least administer first aid.
(Wait.)
I could not just leave the woman who had spoken to me like this. I set the princess down by a tree, gave Irisviel first aid, and shook her awake. Her wound had already closed completely.
Hm?
As I shook her, a sword came flying toward my neck. I hastily drew my dagger, blocked it, and redirected its path over my head.
It seemed another misunderstanding had piled up.
"...Why are you here? Did you ambush Irisviel? Then you have already succeeded. I thought that, dressed as a knight, you believed in chivalry. Was I simply mistaken?"
This was bad again.
The princess... had just gone to the castle alone.
She really had come here to do nothing but have fun.
She was probably sunbathing under the moon by herself again.
"Still no answer. Are you unable to speak? Then there is no need for questions..."
"Wait, Saber..."
"Irisviel! How are you conscious after bleeding that much? More importantly, please wait. I will soon deal with this heretic—!!"
"It was not him. He did not harm me. He found me and gave me first aid instead."
Thank you. Seriously.
"What?"
At Irisviel's words, Saber stammered. Irisviel briefly bowed her head toward me, then healed the green-haired woman beside her.
After that, I dismissed my armor, walked over, carried the green-haired woman on my back, and looked at Saber as if to ask what she was doing. Only then did Saber come to her senses, support Irisviel, and enter the castle.
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