Winning the Holy Grail War to the end—only then will I agree to marry you.
That was the answer Merry gave five years ago when Naoki proposed to her in a dream. He participated in this Holy Grail War for that very purpose.
And now, all enemies have either been defeated or are no longer adversaries. Factually, Naoki has indeed won to the end, fulfilling his promise with Merry.
However—
"Postponed?" Merry frowned, confused. "Why say that? Is there still someone you haven't defeated? Don't tell me it's Arcueid?"
"No, it's not because I missed anyone… Hmm, more accurately, maybe I'm just being childish." Naoki smiled. "My promise to you was to win to the end, but that fight with King Solomon—I don't feel like I won."
Solomon surrendered. After considering various factors and realizing he couldn't defeat Naoki, he chose to give up. It was a decision made with the future in mind.
Naoki could understand that decision and accept the victory, but for some reason, it felt incomplete.
"I want to fight King Solomon again, and only after that victory will we—"
"Ten years from now, right?" Merry smiled, cutting Naoki off. "You fought in my world, and I heard all your conversations. The things the King of Magecraft can think of, I can somewhat figure out too."
Ten years later, after the incineration of humanity occurs, to end it, Naoki would surely face him in a final battle—the sentient Magecraft created by Solomon, Beast I · Goetia.
Goetia is the Magecraft Solomon created, an entity uniting the 72 Demon God Pillars. Defeating it would be the same as defeating Solomon; the two are equivalent.
"Haaa, you're so stubborn." Merry sighed in resignation. "I don't mind. After all, both of us are beings who won't die until the end of the world, so whenever you want to get married is up to you. Delaying a few years is fine."
After all, those getting married might not just be the two of them.
Seeing Merry agree, Naoki let out a sigh of relief—
"Phew."
But a collective sigh suddenly echoed through the living room. Naoki froze for a moment. Scanning the room, he noticed that, except for a few people, almost everyone showed expressions of relief.
(What's that supposed to mean?)
(They want me to stay single?)
"There's still a long road ahead, Master." Rei said with a smile. "But it seems you still don't understand women's hearts. Would you like me to teach you about this in the future?"
"What's that about…"
"Well, let's not talk about off-topic things for now. In short, the Holy Grail War is essentially over. Just manifest the Holy Grail, and let those who want to make wishes do so—if anyone here has a wish… Lia, it's just you."
As Merry spoke, all eyes turned to Artoria.
After a moment of silence, Artoria looked at Naoki. "Is that alright, Master? If I make a wish, will it affect the future plans you discussed with Caster?"
"Who knows? As for your wish, why don't we try it now?" Naoki smiled. "The Holy Grail isn't just one, Rei?"
"I understand, Master."
Rei nodded, then closed her eyes. When she opened them again, there was no emotion in her gaze, as if she were a robot, standing frozen in place.
[Personality switch, connecting consciousness to the Greater Grail, wish-granting function activated, all processes normal, connection complete, operational normally.]
The sight left several people in the room, unaware of this, shocked and gaping.
"Master, this is…"
"The Greater Grail—from another Holy Grail War that Mordred and I participated in, in a parallel world. After I obtained the Grail in the end, I hid it inside Rei's body. As long as there's enough Mana, the Greater Grail's wish-granting function can be replicated." Naoki explained. "However, Rei's Mana isn't abundant right now. Instead of granting a wish, Lia, you should ask something else, like…"
"[How much Mana is needed to grant your wish]."
The Holy Grail can indeed grant wishes, but to fulfill them, an equivalent amount of Mana is required. Even a skilled chef can't cook without rice, and the Holy Grail is the same. Essentially, it grants wishes by using vast amounts of Mana to bypass processes and achieve results directly.
Looking at Rei, now in Greater Grail mode, Artoria took a deep breath. "Grail, I, Artoria Pendragon, wish—please let me return to the day I was chosen as king, literally back to that day."
[Wish received, execution initiated… Execution failed, insufficient Mana.]
"How much Mana is required?"
[Optimal conclusion—sufficient with infinite Mana provided by the Second True Magic.]
"Ah… that explains it." Naoki smiled. "Indeed, if it's the Jewel Magician's magic, infinite Mana might be possible. But that also means… unless it's near-infinite Mana, it can't be done?"
[Correct. Based on available information for analogy—granting Artoria Pendragon's wish is akin to executing the incineration of humanity, estimated to cause irreversible negative impact on the foundation of humanity.]
"That's the conclusion, Lia."
Naoki looked at Artoria.
"If you insist on it, I'll stop you first, even if I have to use a Command Spell to make you take your own life."
"Naoki—"
"Yes, I understand, Master." Before Aoko could speak, Artoria nodded first, taking a deep breath as if swallowing everything stuck in her throat. She stared at the ceiling for a long time.
Then—
"I'm sorry, Master. My wish seems a bit selfish. It would affect humanity… I didn't expect it to have such an impact. I only wanted to prevent Britannia from falling in such a tragic way."
"You can't think like that, Lia." Merry suddenly interjected. "Britannia fell in such a tragic way—from your perspective as someone involved, that's true. But in reality, that manner of destruction was the best possible outcome."
"The best… outcome?"
Merry pointed to her eyes. "I, like the Merlin you know, have Clairvoyance that encompasses the present. Back then, I also tried a bit to save Britannia, but within the limits of what I could foresee, Arthur had already done his best within his capabilities. You here should think the same."
"Though he was a child of fate created to save Britannia, he wasn't guaranteed to change its fate. Britannia's destruction at that time was inevitable. What could be changed was only the manner of its fall. And you, with all your strength, chose a relatively inevitable destruction."
"That was already extraordinary. No one but you could have done it."
Neither Morgan nor Mordred spoke at that moment. As those responsible for Britannia's fall, anything they said would have been inappropriate. But Merry was different. As a Merlin from another world, she must have communicated extensively with the Merlin here. What she said now was likely what this world's Merlin had wanted to say all along.
"This is the message the Merlin you know wanted to convey—he foresaw Britannia's fall before your expedition to Rome but did nothing, not trying to change fate, instead leaving you, hiding to watch you fall."
"Afterward, he deeply regretted it—unlike me, who found it quite interesting. I even appeared before Arthur in his dying state, but had no desire to save him."
"But he was full of regret for what he did to you. He wanted to apologize, but he's trapped in Avalon and can't appear. So just now, he asked me to pass this on."
"[You did your best, Artoria. You worked so hard all this time—rest well now.]"