Gordolf's Estate
"The designated personnel have been secured! N-Now, what's next?! What do I have to do to reach Paradise?!"
[Excellent work. Next, you are to host them for a homestay and foster deep bonds with them.]
"Hah?! You expect me to live under the same roof as those... those people?!"
[There is a reason, of course. By looking after them, you earn a debt of gratitude and a formal covenant with me.]
"What does that even mean?"
[It means moving beyond a relationship where promises are easily broken. You will secure my favor, and your position in Paradise will be guaranteed.]
(I won't mention whether that position is a good one or a bad one, though. But still...)
"I see, I see...! So I just have to keep them fed, right? Leave it to me! I can handle a few extra mouths to feed—no matter how much they eat!"
(If you keep your propositions vague, people will naturally interpret them in whatever way suits them best. —Yes. How delightfully simple he is.)
[Then I leave it in your hands. I must begin the preparations to receive you all. Please, handle them with care.]
"Understood! Leave it to the Phoenix of the Musik family! ...Now, I must arrange the rooms immediately..."
Mr. Dandy's Private Room
"Now then, I need to look over the renovation plans for everyone's family rooms and cross-reference them with Musik's personal tastes. Next time, I'll have to ask for specific room requests."
"Quite right. Labor must be met with rewards, after all. Since we're no longer strangers, guiding and directing him is a breeze. Let's let young Musik handle the family's needs entirely."
"Heheh, how should we pull Gordolf's strings next?"
"Indeed... planning like this is simply too much fun!"
Gudaguda Battle of Nagashino!
The Gudaguda party stood in awe, having just witnessed a historical moment where a falling star shattered the very earth.
"I am never making fun of Arash-senpai ever again," Nobu muttered, eyes wide.
"Please don't... If he launches a meteor every time you tease him, the world won't last the week..."
(So this is how borders are made...)
As the group stood there, feeling the sheer weight of Arash's greatness...
『Arash's withdrawal has been confirmed. Rest easy, Rikka.』
"Thank goodness..."
—It was listed as an Anti-Army Noble Phantasm... but that energy output... surely that can't be right?
"The classification accounts for the dispersal of power over an area. But the total energy required to sweep across the land and shatter the earth... that is easily on par with an Anti-Country Noble Phantasm. Well, it matters not. With that single strike, he divided the nations and saved the people."
—Arash-san... he really is an incredible person...
"—Hey. I see something else over there."
It was another circle of Gudaguda Hell.
『MUSERU』
"⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛——————!!!!"
Standing in the middle of some nameless plain was a titan of a man, three meters tall, leading an army of the undead. It was the Great King of Persia, Darius III. Mounted on his ride, he deployed his forces across the Gudaguda party's path, glaring with feral intensity.
"Something really beefy just showed up... Three meters tall? I don't even know where to start with that," Nobu sighed.
『Oho! Darius III! To appear in such a bizarre fashion! It seems he has a sense of humor after all!』 Iskandar boomed, delighted to see his old rival. Hercules stood beside him, nodding silently.
"What's up, Herc?"
『Hm? No... I was just feeling nostalgic for the old days of being a Berserker.』
"The old days? Don't you guys just go 'Uga-uga' all the time?"
Not necessarily, Hercules gestured with a finger.
『The Berserker class has evolved with the times. At first, we could only roar. But gradually, the scope and interpretation grew. Once it was understood that we simply have 'warped logic or values,' conversation became possible. As a 'Progenitor Berserker,' it's truly heartening to see how much easier we are to write into stories now. In the original Fate, my role was mostly to get shot so the player could get a Tiger Stamp. Now, there are even Berserker 'Moms' for the Master. It's wonderful. By the way, what's the logic behind that sword that kills me seven times over?』
"This Great Hero is surprisingly picky about his class," Nobu remarked. "My only impression of him is 'Constant Full Volume.'"
"Fuhaha, you've grown quite talkative, Great Hero. Having come from the same original source, I understand the feeling. Do not dwell on it. The God who wove our tale was young and full of passion. For you, who once shattered the Chains of Heaven, to question logic now is a bit late, wouldn't you say?"
The King of Heroes joined the conversation with amusement. These two had a long history in the Fate franchise; their feelings were a complicated mix of joy and sorrow.
『I hear an 'Avenger' version of me was discovered recently. —I have no doubt it's nothing but trouble.』
"Umu. Likely a scoundrel who wouldn't hesitate to target toddlers," Gilgamesh agreed.
『Hahaha. Unforgivable.』
"Y-You two! Save the Fate Memorial Talk for later! Focus on the enemy in front of us!"
"Oh? Even the Marshmallow Servant is getting into the Gudaguda spirit? Good, good... Gudaguda is the way..."
"Nobunaga-san, get it together!"
While the party bickered, Darius and his companion stepped forward.
"So you've finally arrived, Fool of Owari. The time has come to settle this... or so my Lord says."
Reading from a script in a flat, monotone voice was the original Rider herself—the eternally popular, lazy Medusa.
"Medusa's here too! Hey, what kind of General are you supposed to be?!"
"Sanada. Apparently, my name is Sanada Medusa..."
"Sanada?! As in the Sanada family of that noisy 'Oyakata-sama'? The timeline doesn't even match! Sanada was around, sure, but Yukimura's era was after the Monkey kicked the bucket. Hmph, this sloppy historical research feels oddly familiar!"
"You have that over there too, I see... regardless, I'm just here to translate. And this is Takeda Darius."
"⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛————!!"
"My Takeda Cavalry shall trample you into the dust—or so my Lord says." Darius brandished his axes with terrifying force. An army of ten thousand undead soldiers... a recreation of Darius's living forces... this was no joke.
Except—
"Is it just me, or is that thing you're riding clearly an elephant...?"
Darius was mounted upon a massive, undead elephant. It was magnificent, imposing, and undeniably an elephant. Long trunk, big ears—definitely the kind of animal kids like more than giraffes.
"They applied the concept of 'cavalry,' but failed to transform the essence of the creature. Indeed, anyone can see that is an elephant. An eccentric army that shatters the very notion of a cavalry charge."
(They cheaped out on the skill commissions. But man, that's huge. Huge! (Fou-level commentary))
—It's so big...
The "Gorgeous Trio" looked up vacantly, marveling at the absurdity of the elephant-riding chieftain.
"⬛⬛⬛⬛⬛!!" Darius growled again.
"'Don't sweat the small stuff or you'll go bald'—or so my Lord says."
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