Nobunaga came suddenly and left just as abruptly. After speaking words that felt like entrusting a final wish, she vanished into spirit form right in front of everyone.
And after that, a week passed in the blink of an eye.
During those seven days, the flames of war engulfed the entire Imperial Capital. Even at night, the endless sound of gunfire could be heard. Battles raged constantly.
And Nobunaga fought on the main battlefield for all seven days.
Servants don't need rest. For a Servant, rest is a process of restoring Mana, not sleeping. No matter the Servant, Mana will always be depleted during combat. Using a Noble Phantasm consumes even more.
Thus, endless fighting is impossible.
Yet Nobunaga truly fought for seven straight days. She may have rested in between, but from Naoki's perception, her total rest time over those seven days didn't exceed seven hours combined.
["Even if this country needs to atone for its sins, I won't just sit by and watch it lose. I'll stake my life to lead this country to victory as much as I can."]
That was the resolve Naoki read in Nobunaga's eyes at the time.
Japan would lose, and as the defeated nation, it would face retribution from the world.
This was a fact clearly recorded in history, undeniable. Nobunaga alone could never change it. Yet, despite that, she still wanted to seize the chance to turn defeat into victory.
But… as Naoki had said, Japan's losses were so immense that a single Servant couldn't change the outcome. On battlefields where Nobunaga wasn't present, Japanese forces crumbled like a collapsing mountain. And because Naoki had annihilated the Ministry of the Army, the Japanese troops on the battlefield were thrown into complete disarray.
Regarding this situation, Naoki didn't interfere at all. He would only fight if the flames of war reached his inn. Otherwise, he strictly adhered to Nobunaga's request, not obstructing her war efforts in the slightest.
On the other hand, after Naoki seized the Holy Grail bomb and hid it in Angelica's Treasure Vault, the Holy Grail War quietly came to an end.
The German base stationed in Japan, as Naoki had predicted, was completely destroyed by the rampaging Izou Okada in less than twenty minutes. Not a single person survived the entire base. By the time Naoki arrived, the bodies were already beginning to rot. The German commander and his officers, who were the Masters of two Servants—Izou Okada and Maxwell's Demon—also met gruesome deaths.
Combined with the Berserker who never appeared, three Servants were eliminated in just one day.
Sakamoto Ryoma never showed up either. Originally summoned by the Counter Force due to the Holy Grail bomb, after confirming the bomb had been safely dealt with, he devoted himself to protecting the suffering populace.
Naoki encountered him once while buying groceries but didn't speak with him. He only secretly added a concealment barrier to the shelter Ryoma had built—though Naoki despised Japan in this era, the people in the shelter were innocent, also victims, so he was willing to offer a bit of help.
As for Lancer—Li Shuwen—he truly never appeared. No such person ever showed up in the entire Imperial Capital. But that was understandable; this Singularity was limited to Japan's Imperial Capital, while Li Shuwen was summoned in Shanghai, China. Geographically, he wasn't part of this Singularity.
Nobunaga fought outside, Ryoma was busy saving the people, and Naoki and the other three just sat and watched.
—Under these circumstances, a week passed quickly.
On the early morning of the ninth day Naoki was in this Singularity, the artillery fire that had raged for a week finally stopped. And by dusk, the Japanese government officially announced the nation's unconditional surrender.
The Imperial Capital War thus came to an end.
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
On the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, in a battlefield filled with smoke and explosions.
Stepping on ground riddled with craters, two groups of people appeared in this now-empty area.
Looking at the man dressed in a naval uniform before him, Naoki spoke first: "This is our first official meeting, right, Rider, Sakamoto Ryoma?"
"Yes, nice to meet you, Natsukawa-dono." Ryoma smiled, holding his hat. "That said, to me, you're someone I've really wanted to meet and thank. You've helped me a lot behind the scenes, and I'm deeply grateful."
"If I could, I'd have loved to visit you with a gift, but the current situation doesn't give me much time, so I could only intercept you here. Please forgive me."
Naoki smiled. "It was just a small favor. I'm not a cold-blooded monster. I'll save those who should be saved and help those who should be helped. It's that simple."
"See, I told you he's a good person, didn't I, Ryoma?" Behind Ryoma, a beautiful black-haired woman floating in the air smiled. "I don't sense any evil aura from him. He's a purely good person, one hundred percent. Even if he does bad things, his intentions must be good."
"Yes, yes, Oryou-sama is absolutely right."
Ryoma smiled, then looked behind Naoki. "Also, look at the woman there, Natsukawa-dono. You came here to…"
"Yeah, this kid said she wanted to see her one last time, so I brought her." Naoki gestured to Kaname, who was holding his hand behind him. "You're the same, right? If it was just to say thanks, you didn't need to come here."
"Yes. Though this was a mistaken war, Nobunaga-dono is undoubtedly a hero. I think, at the very least, at the end, I should show my respect as someone from the future and thank her for her sacrifice."
"She's not dead yet; I can sense it—I'm not going. Kaname, go with them."
Naoki pushed Kaname toward Ryoma. "She said not to interfere with her; maybe she doesn't want to see my grumpy face at the end. So I won't go."
Ryoma nodded. "Then, until we meet in the future, Natsukawa-dono."
"I think we will. After all, my life is long. Maybe we'll meet again in another Holy Grail War."
"Haha, then please go easy on me when the time comes~"
After saying that, Ryoma took Kaname and walked deeper into the battlefield.
And then, five minutes later.
Within Naoki's perception range, the two Servants closest to him also vanished.
The Imperial Capital Holy Grail War, seven Servants. Now, only Okita remained. The Holy Grail was also in Naoki's hands—he had once again become the final victor.
"Heh, it really doesn't feel like anything special."
"Once Kaname returns, I'll take Okita and Angelica back to Chaldea."
"One week… I wonder if the second Singularity has been resolved."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Chaldea.
Control Room.
With the sudden sound of an alert, all the staff in the control room tensed up almost simultaneously, and Roman, sitting in the main commander's chair, jumped as if there were thorns in his seat!
"This alert sound…"
"That bastard Natsukawa! After disappearing for over five months, he's finally back?!"