It was fortunate that there was little damage to the building. But there was no time to rest. The previous attack had revealed our hiding place to the enemy. There was no way we could just leisurely go to sleep.
I had two choices.
"We can either hide somewhere else, or we can go on the offensive," I said in a meeting that had changed significantly. Everyone lacked a fighting spirit. Especially Waver, who was always so surprised and enlivened the mood. The fact that we had been attacked by the enemy seemed to have given him a considerable shock. On top of that, his Servant wasn't here, perhaps because he'd had a quarrel with me or because he'd given up on me. When I asked Waver, he said that the damage from the Civil War wasn't that bad.
"We should obviously hide," Kayneth said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"The Saber faction is effectively in a state of collapse. The only irregularity is the discord with Rider. In this situation, there's no way we can counterattack."
"But then, how, and where, do we hide...?"
"There's the church, isn't there? If we declare that we're abandoning our Command Spells and ask for sanctuary, it shouldn't be a problem, even if they're in collusion with Tohsaka."
Kayneth seemed to have calmly assessed the situation and come to that conclusion. But I wasn't going to let him.
"Have you forgotten, Kayneth-san? If the Holy Grail is completed, something terrible will happen. The curses accumulated in the Holy Grail will burn this town to the ground."
"Hmmph."
"What are you going to say when you return to the Clock Tower? Are you going to say that you meekly ran away, even though you had foreknowledge of a magical catastrophe?"
"Ugh."
"To our competitors, you'd be easy prey! Running away is not an option!"
I pressed him. Kayneth's face twisted in agony. But with this, the option of "running away" was no longer available to him.
"...Hmph, then what do you intend to do? Do you have a plan, Irregular?"
"Yeah! What the professor said is true, after all."
What I had to do was simple.
"Teamwork. We fight as a team. That's the only way to win."
Both of them looked like they wanted to say, "What are you talking about?" And of course they would. That's what they were struggling with right now. But still, this was the only way.
"The only way to win is to unite!"
"!"
"H-Hey, what's wrong with you...?"
They were both surprised, but I continued.
"I don't want a victory that comes from giving up on something! I don't want a victory where someone here is missing! I don't want a victory where a lot of unrelated people die! A victory that comes from giving up is a loser's victory! We're going to seize a winner's victory!"
And so, I continued.
"I want you to lend me your strength."
"You..."
I bowed my head as low as I could. There was no response from either of them. I felt as if I had spewed everything out in a single rush. As I waited for their reply, I heard different footsteps. The sound of a sliding door opening, and a presence entered.
"R-Rider—"
"Is that your true wish?"
This person had seen right through me. What I had said during the Grail discussion, about wishing for Sakura to be happy, was only a part of my wish. It was undoubtedly my true intention, but the deeper, more fundamental part I had hidden.
"Yeah. My wish is to 'end the story with the ending I want.' Everything has to end exactly the way I want it to, or it's a problem."
Everyone wants to chase two rabbits at once. But most people come to terms with reality and give up on one. I couldn't allow myself to do that. It wasn't just about wanting to save someone; it was about wanting to change their destiny. I wanted to change the fate of the world to match my own ideas.
"What a greedy man. Are you saying you won't be satisfied unless you have everything in your hands?"
"Yeah. I'll change the fate of this story."
I wasn't going to pretend. This was a way of thinking that was unladylike, something that others would see as childish. I looked Rider straight in the eye with that thought burning within me.
Rider, who was usually so lighthearted, opened his mouth with a newfound gravity.
"Your way of life is more brilliant than anyone else's. That is truly the vessel of a king. It is something that draws people in and fascinates them. Don't ever hide it again."
Rider extended his large hand to me.
"I, Iskandar, wish to form an equal alliance with you."
"Of course. With pleasure."
I shook his hand firmly.
We had gained an even stronger connection. And then, there were some other people who needed to make up.
"Waver, you should make up with him too."
"Huh?! W-With who?!"
He said that, but he knew who I meant. When I said it, he glanced sideways at the person next to him, didn't he? It's obviously him.
"Lancer's Master. You're a teacher, aren't you? You should face him properly."
"Hey! Stop it, stop it, Rider!"
Kayneth resisted, but he was no match for Rider's strength. In an instant, they were facing each other.
"..."
"..."
"...Um,"
"What?"
Finally, Waver spoke. His hands were sweaty, and he kept wiping them on his pants. After that, he kept clenching and unclenching his fists.
"...About the Holy Relic, I'm sorry. I apologize."
Kayneth's reply was,
"There's no way I would forgive you."
"!!"
Of course not. By any measure, Waver's action was too reckless. He hadn't thought about what would happen afterward at all. Maybe he thought he wouldn't get caught? I don't know what would happen to Waver if Kayneth had survived. So, it's better to apologize as soon as possible.
"...But,"
Hmm?
"Ahem. But, uh... You were a great help earlier. I... I... I'll thank you."
"No, that was... it just happened to be in front of me, so..."
Rider and I exchanged knowing smiles. These two are going to get along somehow.
"Can I leave the rest to you?"
"Rider, can you do that?"
"No, I can't!! Gahahahahaha!!"
He laughed heartily. I laughed along with him, but thinking about what was to come, I felt a renewed sense of resolve.
"To each their own. I'll take care of it. Rider, you save up your magical energy. And as for Archer—"
I was going to change Rider's ultimate destiny.
"—You're the one who has to defeat him."
---------
"Kiritsugu... please, stay strong."
Iri looked at Kiritsugu, who was lying in the futon, with a pained expression. The attack from the Stand was over, of course. He was just sleeping now. However, his pained expression clearly showed that he was having a nightmare.
Kiritsugu was trembling like a child. He was even shedding tears. This was a face he had never shown once during the several years they had lived in the Einzbern castle. Since the Holy Grail War began, she had seen so many new sides of him. Whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she didn't know.
Nearby, Maiya was wiping away the sweat Kiritsugu had produced.
"Madam, why don't you get some rest?"
"No, I'm fine, Maiya-san. Everyone is working so hard, I can't rest while they are."
"I see. I understand."
And then, the conversation just stopped—but it didn't.
"What did you see?"
"Huh?"
"Sho-kun said that the attack just now brings out things from the past that a person has abandoned... What did you see?"
"Nothing in particular. It seems I've lived a rather boring life. There wasn't anything that was particularly memorable."
Maiya had been picked up by Kiritsugu when she was a child soldier and had been fighting ever since. Maybe she had become too accustomed to death, or maybe she had truly killed people like a machine. She must have killed countless people, and yet nothing of that nature came out.
The same was true for objects.
"Is that so?"
Iri just nodded and didn't say anything. In this case, Maiya probably wanted her to share her own story. Maiya quietly leaned in to listen.
"I saw Illya."
"..."
"I never thought I had abandoned her. But she said it in her own voice. She said, 'Dad and Mom don't care about me at all.' But that's not true, we love her so much...!"
Even though Iri looked fine, she was hurt. She was desperately trying not to show it to Kiritsugu, who was even more deeply wounded than she was. She wiped away the tears that welled up in her eyes, not allowing them to fall.
"Madam... I'm sorry. I couldn't be of any help."
Maiya, who had intended to be just a listener, unconsciously blurted that out.
"Ah... Where am I?"
"Kiritsugu!?"
Kiritsugu had woken up. His face was pale, and his lips were dry. He had sweated so much he looked dehydrated. That's how much the nightmare had tormented him.
"...I had a dream."
He began to talk about the gruesome content of the dream.
"I was flying all over the world with Iri, Illya, and Maiya—we were going from battlefield to battlefield."
"Battlefields?"
"I tried my best to do it my way. I did my best. The result was the same as always. I killed a small number of people to save a large number. But, Iri and Illya..."
"...They died?"
"At first, they were cheering me on. They'd say, 'It must be hard, but hang in there.' But then, they gradually started to avoid me as I piled up the corpses, and before I knew it, they were gone. I wanted to go look for them, but a new battlefield would appear right in front of me. When I came to, there was nothing left."
At the end of the slaughter, he had only found a cold solitude. After killing his first love, killing his father, killing his teacher, and building a mountain of corpses, happiness was not something that could befall such a man.
"A killer like me isn't someone who deserves to be happy. To wish for a normal life is..."
"Of course you can."
"Sho-kun!?"
"Irregular...?"
Everyone was surprised by Sho's sudden appearance.
"Um, w-when did you get here?"
"I heard everything you said."
"Ah, you were here from the beginning then."
"I thought it would be better for you to get it out. For now, Iri-san, could you call your daughter?"
"Eh, c-call?"
Iri's eyes widened at Sho's even more abrupt actions, but she couldn't refuse.
Since Iri couldn't use a phone, she used a magical long-distance communication.
"Hello, Mom? What's up?"
"Oh, Illya? Well, I didn't have anything special to talk about. I just... wanted to hear your voice."
"Heehee? What are you saying, Mom? That's so weird."
"Haha, you're right. What am I saying..."
Tears were falling. She had tried so hard to hold them back. And in front of her daughter, no less. As a mother, she couldn't let her daughter hear her sob.
"Oh, yeah! Hey, Mom, is Kiritsugu there? I want to talk to him!"
"Huh! A-He is, but..."
She hesitated, seeing how weak Kiritsugu was.
"Ah."
Sho, seeing her hesitation, snatched the communication device and held it out to Kiritsugu. Kiritsugu took it with a trembling hand.
"Illya, it's me."
"Ah! Kiritsugu! You're so slow to answer!"
"I'm sorry, Illya... Are you lonely there by yourself?"
"Duh! Of course I am! You're an idiot, Kiritsugu!"
"My work will be over soon. When it is, I'll come pick you up."
"Really?! I thought of a new game! Hey, Kiritsugu, hurry back! How many more days will it take? Hey, hey!"
"Soon. When I'm done, I'll come for you."
"...Really? Do you promise?"
"Of course. It's a promise."
The communication ended.
"You promised, didn't you?"
"..."
"You promised you'd come for her when this is all over."
"...I don't know if I can keep it."
Sho couldn't hold back anymore at Kiritsugu's weak words and yelled loud enough for the whole house to hear.
"Don't be ridiculous!"
"!!"
I got on top of him and grabbed his collar.
"It's not that you don't know if you can keep it! You've already given up! You've decided it's impossible and you're trying to abandon your only daughter!"
"...Your plan has already fallen apart. Either way, we can't win anymore. It's just a matter of giving up now or later."
"!!"
Sho raised his fist. Kiritsugu, a human, would be no match for a Servant's strength. But even though he must have understood this, Kiritsugu just stared at him with empty eyes.
Sho gently lowered his fist to Kiritsugu's chest.
"I know the past is painful. No, I probably can't understand it fully. But your efforts are wrong. Instead of being afraid of the past, your 'effort' now is to protect the wife and daughter you have! You can complain about when things went wrong in your grave! It's not something you should be doing now...! "
"..."
"There's someone far away who believes in you. It might be hard to live up to that trust, and it might be scary. It's difficult to protect someone, and maybe you've never done it before. But is that all? Doesn't the courage to face it well up inside you?"
"That is..."
Sho stood up.
"Please. Fight with me. Just as you said, my plan has fallen apart. We need everyone's strength."
I opened the sliding door.
"Rider has sent an envoy to Archer. The final battle is tonight."
Even after Sho left the room, Kiritsugu was still unable to move.
"Iri, I..."
---------
"I didn't know you could yell so loud."
When I returned from Kiritsugu-san's room, I ran into Waver.
"A lot of things I've been holding back just came out. This is the real me."
"Did something happen in the past?"
"Nothing major. When I said something similar to my club, I got too heated and became a target for bullying in no time. It's a bad Japanese culture thing. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. So I've been holding back this whole time."
"So Rider saw right through you."
Exactly. To be precise, he saw through my hidden intentions.
"That's right. After that, I tried to avoid saying anything unnecessary and to get by with only efficiency... but maybe what moves people isn't efficiency, but feelings."
"You..."
Well, that facade was already starting to crumble here anyway.
"Hey, you're from 10 years in the future, right?"
"Huh? Yeah. Why?"
"Nah, I was just thinking that maybe we could meet again in 10 years."
I'll tease him a little.
"Oh, fine. Well, since you asked so nicely? I might consider not not going to meet you, since you have so few friends, Waver-kun."
"Shut up! You were bullied, so you don't have any friends either!"
Oh, he hit back. He's actually grown quite a bit.
I laughed lightly and left the area.
There was still one last person left.
I headed for the room where the stubborn King of Knights was sleeping.
--------------------------------------------
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