We joined forces with Caster Cú Chulainn.
He was the one who explained the situation in Fuyuki, something I already knew all about.
The goal was simple: defeat Saber. Taking her down would resolve everything.
There was the variable of Berserker, but just like in the original story, he didn't seem to be leaving the Einzbern forest.
Thanks to that, we were able to fight through the remaining Assassin remnants and head towards the location of the Greater Grail.
As we traveled and talked with him...
I felt a strange sense of repulsion.
"All these gorgeous ladies, and not one of you is taken? That's honestly surprising~ And our little Director here is a noble and a pretty skilled magus, isn't she? You really don't have anyone?"
"For the last time, no. I'm not thinking about fiancés or anything like that yet."
I knew he liked older, sisterly types, but he was never the kind of guy to hit on women so aggressively.
He could be playful and a bit of a smooth talker, but he was never this blatant about it. If it were Fergus, maybe, but seeing Cú Chulainn act this way felt... dissonant.
And it wasn't just the Director. He was overly friendly with Mash and Ritsuka, who by his standards were still just kids, yet he showed the same kind of overt romantic interest in them as he did with the Director.
This felt slightly different from the Cú Chulainn I knew.
I'd never seen a male Servant in the previous timeline, so I didn't know, but were all the male Servants in this world like this? But that couldn't be right; Leonidas was exactly the same as the original Leonidas.
"How about you, miss? As your Servant senior, I can teach you anything you want, so just ask away, 'kay?"
Cú Chulainn said this as he placed a hand on Mash's shoulder. Except, it was less "placing" and more "stroking." Mash's armor design was quite revealing, and before her Spiritron Dress Ascension, her midriff was exposed. But fundamentally, her shoulders were always bare.
He spoke smoothly while stroking her bare shoulder.
Mash also seemed quite uncomfortable with his actions.
Ritsuka kept her distance from Cú Chulainn, sticking close to my side and glaring at him with a cold gaze.
I didn't feel good about it either. I had a favorable impression of Cú Chulainn. The dependable, big-brother figure who should have been a reassuring ally... seeing him like this felt alien.
At this rate, I couldn't look forward to meeting any other Servants. I thought it was just the female Servants, but if the male Servants were also affected like this... I had absolutely nothing to look forward to.
I could only hope that not all Servants were like this.
"Is it bothering you?"
Ritsuka, walking beside me, glanced at Cú Chulainn as he tried to sweet-talk Mash, then asked me.
Even though we had left the burning district, a hot wind blew, rustling her hair and mine. Crumbled leaves scattered, and in the distance, the path to Ryuudou Temple on Mount Enzo was just coming into view. I sighed and answered.
"I'd be lying if I said no. He's just so different from the image I had of him. Are you okay, Ritsuka?"
"Not at all."
I could see Ritsuka's body trembling slightly as she walked beside me.
"Leonidas... his fashion sense makes him a bit hard to approach, but he's a good person. But that man..."
"If you don't want to be near him, you don't have to."
I wondered if she was afraid of men, but it felt a little different from that. Does she just dislike the playboy type? It was more like... she was afraid of something.
"You don't have to force yourself. No one's going to make you do something you don't want to do."
"...Yeah, thank you."
I patted Ritsuka's shoulder to calm her down and glanced back. Parvati was pulling Cú Chulainn away from Mash.
So I won't get to see the real 'Aniki' Cú in this world, huh?
Anyway, we stood before the temple gate. A ridiculously long flight of stairs stretched out before us.
"I'm tired. Can you give me a piggyback ride?"
"Here?"
"Yep. It's fine~ I know you can do it, Sho."
You think? I cast a troubled look at the others.
"Believe in your muscles, Master!"
Leonidas was forcing his Spartan spirit upon me. Parvati looked at me as if this were another trial, and Mash, far from offering to help, had a supportive expression on her face.
With no other choice, I lifted Ritsuka onto my back and started climbing the mountain path.
But... I wasn't out of breath at all. They said my stamina was limitless, but was it possible to not get tired at all?
"Am I not heavy?"
"Not at all."
That was a lie, she was heavy. No matter how light a person is, carrying them is never going to feel weightless. Even with infinite stamina, it was still strenuous, just not tiring. It was more like my endurance was boosted and I didn't get exhausted. It felt like continuously lifting a weight that was just within my limits.
I was just saying it to be polite.
"If a grown man gets tired from carrying one girl, he can't really call himself an adult."
I just said whatever came to mind to hide how hard it was. Well, I meant it, though. I'm the adult, so I should at least do this much. Was it guilt from not being able to help her back then?
I just felt like I wanted to do more for her. I wasn't originally this responsible of a person, but I guess I've changed.
"Alright, we're here."
"Being carried is nice~ Can't you carry me a little longer?"
"The fare is due on arrival, miss."
"Ahaha~ What's that supposed to mean?"
I set Ritsuka down, and we passed through the temple gate.
We looked at the half-destroyed Ryuudou Temple, wondering where to go, when Cú Chulainn took the lead.
"Leave it to me from here on out. The path is pretty well hidden, so follow me closely."
He confidently led the way. We followed him and soon saw the entrance to a cave in the distance.
"Alright, we're almost there! Let's go!"
He strode forward, full of confidence, when we heard a faint click.
What was that?
KRA-BOOOOOOM!!!
A massive explosion, powerful enough to shake the heavens and the earth, erupted. The blast sent both Ritsuka and me stumbling, and I instinctively shielded her.
Leonidas and Mash quickly rushed over to protect us with their shields, while Parvati extended her spear, nullifying the explosion with a sonic wave.
"...Caster's dead!?"
At the Director's words, I looked ahead. Yep. Cú Chulainn had vanished, leaving only his staff behind. A moment later, the staff also dissolved into light. So he just guided us here and that was it.
It must have been a landmine, one planted by Emiya. There were no other candidates. But he should have been defeated and gone. Why was it still here? This feels too contrived.
Maybe the reason we never met Caster in the previous timeline wasn't that we missed him, but that he made his exit in this exact manner?
More importantly, in the original story, he wasn't supposed to die. Is it okay here? Plot convenience has its limits.
"Let's just... go."
Well, what could we do? We left our short-lived guide behind and entered the cave.
"Wh-What incredible magical energy. Why is there a concentration of mana of this level in the Far East?"
"Is that so? Hmm, I can't tell at all."
"Indeed. Compared to the Age of Gods, or even the Age of Man, the mana here doesn't feel particularly dense."
"Is that just from a Servant's perspective? I, like the Director, feel a certain pressure."
The Director and Mash seemed to feel overwhelmed by the magical energy, but Leonidas and Parvati apparently did not. As an ordinary person, I couldn't feel a thing. It seemed to be the same for Ritsuka.
"Hmm, there's a light up ahead. Everyone, please stand behind me."
As the light became visible, Leonidas took the lead. The cave path ended, opening up into a massive cavern.
And there she was. Saber Alter.
"So you've come, drifters."
"S-Such immense power... It's impossible. There's no way we can beat that."
The Director seemed to lose her nerve the moment she saw her, but in contrast, Parvati tilted her head, looking puzzled.
"Whatever. Let's not give her a moment to breathe. Let's finish this quickly. Leonidas, your Noble Phantasm."
"Yes! Let's go, my comrades! Now is the time to raise your spears and shields to protect those who must be protected!"
His shield burst into flames, and the crest of his helmet ignited.
"[Thermopylae Enomotia]—Guardian of the Blazing Gates—!!!"
Behind him, 300 Spartan warriors materialized and charged forward. Parvati cast her blessings upon them, and the war cry of Sparta filled the great cavern.
We will win. We will definitely win.
Fuyuki is just a hurdle for us to overcome. The important trial, the turning point for us, isn't Fuyuki. It's when we return to Chaldea.
Back in Chaldea, the surviving staff members were moving about busily.
And just as Sho had predicted, the one thing all the surviving staff had in common was that they were all women.
They were maintaining the control room when Da Vinci approached a particular console.
"This is the one that's not working, right?"
"Yes. It's showing a strange loading screen and won't respond at all."
"Hmm, can't be helped. Let's fix this one later. We have a lot of other things to repair."
One piece of equipment was stuck on a loading screen. As long as the other equipment was working, it wasn't a problem, so Da Vinci decided to deal with it later.
"Based on our observations, they should be wrapping things up and returning soon. That man said he's preparing a welcome party... I wonder how that'll go?"
Ryuji had taken several staff members with him to prepare a party for their return. So many people had died, and they were cut off from the outside world, but...
Not a single person questioned his actions or tried to stop him. They simply acquiesced, as if they respected and accepted his decision.
Neither Da Vinci nor any of the other staff paid any mind to the broken machine, simply going about their duties.
Even when a loading screen they had never seen before appeared on the monitor, they paid it no mind at all.