A perfect day starts with a good breakfast.
Ahhh, so comfortable~
Enjoying the breakfast Gray brought over, while being treated to a massage from little Habetrot.
This was Aesc's morning.
Perfect in every way, except for having to wake up early.
"Waver, Waver." Melvin Weins sidled up to Lord El-Melloi II and whispered, "That new student of yours in the El-Melloi Classroom... she's something else."
"Leave it be."
Yesterday, in a fit of resentment, Aesc had made short work of the Child of Einnashe in just a few minutes, casually scooping Melvin out of the air in the process.
Seeing the lady act so freely, without a care for hiding her Servant identity, El-Melloi II decided to just let her be.
As long as she didn't pull any stunts in front of those old monsters, he'd let the lady have her fun.
"The real question is, what are you doing here?" El-Melloi II asked, eyeing Melvin. "How did you get involved in this?"
When Aesc brought Melvin over yesterday, he'd barely stepped out of the water mirror before collapsing to his knees, vomiting blood violently.
He gave Gray such a fright she nearly jumped out of her skin.
Olga Marie had been fussing last night, insisting, 'It's nothing serious, I'm perfectly fine now,' before scurrying off to the adjacent room.
"When a dear friend is in trouble, of course I'd come," Melvin said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "But you, Waver, you didn't even think to invite me to something this interesting."
"Eh? Teacher actually has friends?" Gray tilted her head.
"'Dear friend' is a title this guy gave himself without my consent," El-Melloi II retorted, a prominent vein throbbing on his forehead. "And what do you mean by 'actually'?"
"Uh..."
Gray turned away and joined the effort of giving Aesc her massage.
Dammit, Gray. Have you been picking up bad habits from that witch?
And here I was worried... Ah, forget it.
El-Melloi II's anxiously suspended heart finally sank for good.
"Eh~! After all these years of our minds clashing! Our souls intertwining! Isn't that enough to prove our status as dear friends? I get it now. Waver's lonely."
Melvin spread his arms wide. "We haven't even shared a hug since I got here."
"Alright, you can shut up now."
El-Melloi II spat the words with disdain, then picked up his crystal ball and looked toward Aesc, who seemed puzzled by Gray's sudden assistance with the massage.
"Ma'am, could you spare some magical energy?" He shook his left hand, the fake Command Spells visible beneath his glove.
After recharging the fake Command Spells, close to midnight, an announcement echoed through the train.
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Mystic Eye Auction will now commence."
"It's time for the final showdown." El-Melloi II took the lead, pushing the door open.
Outside, Olga Marie was already waiting.
"From the look of you, you've already uncovered the truth?"
"Correct." El-Melloi II adjusted his glasses with an air of complete confidence.
The same smile he'd worn on the train roof last night once again graced his lips.
After the Fourth Holy Grail War, Waver had left in disgrace, having merely survived the bloody struggle.
Back then, facing his enemy, that Golden King, he had lost.
He, who had summoned the King of Conquerors Iskandar, had been defeated.
Lord El-Melloi II's reason for wanting to participate in the Fifth Holy Grail War was simple: he wanted to prove that the only shortcoming lay with him as a Master, and that the Servant, King Iskandar, definitely had the capability to achieve victory.
And this time, facing his enemy, he absolutely could not afford to lose.
Gripping the crystal ball concealed within his clothes, El-Melloi II turned and strode toward the auction car.
Aesc waved Olga Marie over.
"So, have you figured out who I am yet?"
"Figured out? I'm analyzing," Olga Marie retorted, her brow still furrowed in frustration. "A user of that kind of magecraft..."
"Go on, give it your best shot," the witch, not lacking in conscience, encouraged the girl trying to solve the puzzle.
Gray, watching from the side, found it a bit hard to bear. Seeing that Aesc showed no intention of stopping her, she stepped forward and whispered into Olga Marie's ear.
"What?! This woman is...?" Just as expected, Olga Marie stared at Aesc with an expression of utter disbelief.
She then bared her teeth, grabbed Aesc's hand as if she wanted to bite her head off, and growled in a low voice, "And yet you told me that magecraft was a great starting point for analysis! There's no legend about you using magecraft like that!"
"Ehe~"
"Don't you play dumb with me!"
"Sorry, sorry." Aesc scooped up little Habetrot and offered her to Olga Marie. "Here, you can hold Habetrot. Don't be mad~"
Little Habetrot stared wide-eyed at her master.
"...Don't think you can just smooth things over after fooling me like that," Olga Marie huffed, ultimately refusing to take the tiny fairy. She snorted and walked ahead to join El-Melloi II, who was leading the way. "And don't treat me like a child."
Aesc laughed cheerfully.
Her own mood was bright, but there was someone here whose mood wasn't so sunny.
"What's wrong, Gray?" Aesc looked toward Gray, who seemed somewhat out of sorts. "Feeling like your teacher is being taken away?"
Gray didn't react to Aesc's teasing. Gazing at El-Melloi II's proud, upright figure ahead, she simply sighed.
"It's just... Teacher seems different from how he is during lectures."
"This is the real him. I heard he used to debate his own professor in class, you know."
"Eh? Teacher would do something like that?" Gray let out a soft chuckle, as if pleased to learn another tidbit about her teacher's past, but soon grew quiet again.
Her eyes fixed on the man at the front, her cherry lips pressed together slightly as she murmured, "If Teacher ever stops being a professor, if he's not here anymore..."
"Then would you leave him?"
"Of course not!" Gray frantically refuted the idea.
"Then it's fine, isn't it?" Aesc shook her head at El-Melloi II, who had glanced back to check on them, signaling that all was well.
"As long as you continue to stay by his side, that's all that matters." Thinking of El-Melloi II's usual demeanor, Aesc smiled. "Besides, without you, who knows how he'd manage to survive."
"Maybe the future holds even more exciting and varied experiences for you both." She ran her fingers through Gray's smooth hair.
"You might go on adventures to far-off places, fight some Phantasmal Species or something."
"Phantasmal Species might be a bit much."
"My, my, Gray actually knows what Phantasmal Species are."
"Even if I'm only half-competent, I still pay attention in class sometimes," Gray puffed out her cheeks in indignation.
"Haha, my apologies. Who knows, maybe you'll even become pirates."
"Becoming pirates does seem a bit far-fetched." Gray couldn't quite picture herself and her teacher as pirates.
"You never know. You might even take on a fake name, like Yarg."
"...Isn't that just 'Gray' spelled backwards?"
Perhaps amused by Aesc's whimsical ideas, Gray's mood lightened a little. She pulled her hood down, covering her face.
Ah... Miss Aesc is right. Even if Teacher decides not to be a professor anymore, I'll still follow him.
No matter where Teacher goes in the future, no matter what he does, I'll be by his side.
Until the time I am no longer Gray.
"Don't worry. What you fear will never come to pass."
The voice from beside her made Gray instantly lift her head.
Aesc, as if she had peered directly into Gray's heart, had denied her deepest anxiety.
Aesc was looking at her with a smile like an angel's.
Then, the angel spoke.
"Gray will always be Gray."
--+--
T/N: While I am an inexperienced Translator, I have a Patreon! While it may seem empty as of now, webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.