For someone, the night where sorrow and joy coexisted passed, and morning arrived.
I wake Nero, who is sleeping soundly inside the tent. Sleeping without a care in the world. Today, perhaps thanks to the meeting with Caligula or because I've started thinking positively, there was no suffering from the accumulation of evil nature.
"Nero, wake up. It's morning. We have to depart now."
"Hmm... Can't I sleep a little more...?"
"You're quite the heavy sleeper. I understand. It's because you're living a comfortable life after a long time. Still, if we go to Britain quickly, you can have an even more comfortable life."
Of course... depending on how the goddess Rhongomyniad treats me.
"Ha~oom... I'm sleepy. Even after sleeping, I'm still drowsy."
Today, I lightly wash her hair, dry it, and comb it for her.
"It's called aging. At that age, your body gradually becomes sluggish and fatigue builds up easily. If you trained like me, it wouldn't be like this."
"Now that you mention it, you're really strange. Despite such a slender build, you have strength beyond my uncle..."
"It's due to thorough management. If I had grown up properly... I probably would have become a muscle-packed macho man."
"I can't imagine that."
"People who know my appearance in that worldline probably can't imagine it, right? Because in this worldline, I'm like this... haha."
"Hmm, I don't want to meet that."
In ancient Greece, handsome men are Orion or Heracles, but at this point, pretty boys are popular. Of course, in ancient Greece, pretty boys are popular too. Wanting to poke... well, it was an era where the problem was not popularity as a man. Listening to Medea's stories, it's literally end-of-the-century Greece.
"What is today's breakfast?"
Nero asks brightly while smiling. Now she has become the Nero I know. After all, nothing beats family? Thanks to Caligula, Nero's condition has improved.
If it were just me, it might have taken quite a while?
"You see that oven over there, right?"
"Hmm? Yes. An oven, what have you made this time? You always make something new."
"Pizza."
"Pizza...? What is that?"
"It's a food with cheese on top of thinly rolled dough, baked."
"Oh, is it like pita? But pita is commoners' food, and when I tried it before, it wasn't great..."
"It's probably because it was just cheese. Here, look."
I take out the fully baked pizza from the oven. It's a very basic pepperoni pizza. Other ingredients are good too, but for the first time, a basic pizza is best. Italian-style pizza is fine, but I prefer pizza with abundant toppings like in America or Korea.
"Ooh... the atmosphere is different."
"Tomatoes are in it too."
"What is that?"
"Ah, it's not available here yet... In the modern era, it grows worldwide, but not yet here. You'll know when you try it."
I cut the pizza with a pizza cutter and tell Nero to eat it with her hands. As if used to hot things, Nero picks up the pizza and eats it right away.
"! The texture and taste are all different! Is it that tomato thing? The red sauce is tangy and good! The harmony of ingredients there is excellent...! This overflowing cheese, a lot went into it...!"
"Haha, I like pizza too. It's easy to eat and simply delicious. In some countries, it's at the level of a staple food. But, it makes you gain a bit of weight."
"Hmm... that's the same with meat. I manage, so it's fine... though I think I'm eating a bit too much on this journey."
"You can lose it later, right?~"
Finally, she smiles brightly and eats my food. The reason I love cooking is, after all, because everyone becomes lovely when eating delicious food. When I see faces happy because of delicious food, I think this is why I cook.
"You're finally smiling. Since you kept not smiling while eating my food, I thought it might not be good."
"That can't be! Ahem... it was because I had no reason to live. I was depressed, couldn't feel good even if I wanted to, shouldn't feel good... so that's why. But, now it's different. My uncle has given me a reason to live and acknowledges me. From that point, I can't just stay depressed anymore. And, I acknowledge you too. I acknowledge you, Fergus, whom my uncle acknowledges. So, now I'm not wary."
"Is that so... thank you for believing in me."
"Hmm... are you a bit disappointed? You were sincere, but I was doubting you..."
"No, isn't it obvious to anyone?"
"Was it that noticeable!? I should be a genius of acting..."
"Haha! Well, it's a different field of acting. Eat before it gets cold~ Or the cheese will harden?"
"Oops, I have to eat quickly—Ow!?"
"Ahahaha!"
Really, when she's energetic, she's cute. From the opposite perspective, she looks like a harmless child, doesn't she?
After finishing the meal, I make a map and show it.
"Now, our location is right here."
"The center of the plains... a bit above Mediolanum."
"Yes. There are huge mountains here, and we have to go through between them."
"This side has rough paths and hard-to-find retreats. Will it be okay?"
"This is the fastest. If we detour around all the mountains to the left, we get close to the Emperor Alliance."
"Hmm... there's the port city Massilia. How about gathering information there?"
"Cities are dangerous... no, going there might not be bad."
Now, even if I use clairvoyance, I can only see a bit far, and I can't use present sight. Information is important. The top priority is to go to Britain quickly without encountering enemies. Should we get information from there? Since we met Caligula, we'll be detected in this area. So, gathering information around here is unreasonable.
"But from here, we can arrive in a day, right?"
"We'll be there by evening. We'll gather information from evening, depart in the morning, and arrive in Gaul."
"Hmm, a perfect plan. Very good!"
We immediately clean up the campsite, get on the chariot, and head to the port city Massilia. The port city called the ancient port. Probably a lot of information flows there.
If we go up from Massilia, it's right to France (Gaul). If we avoid time-consuming encounters with enemies, it should go very well.
"But, it bothers me."
"What do you mean?"
"After Boudica, we haven't encountered any armies. Relatively peaceful. It's largely thanks to your mobility... but I wonder if it can be this absent."
"This vast European land, they might not find us, or even if they do, they might not have the mobility to catch up to us."
I say this, but... actually, I'm a bit uneasy too. Isn't it too smooth? I was on guard for night attacks, but... there were none at all. I thought about the possibility that they intentionally let Caligula go... but is that not it? Well, after contacting Caligula, Nero has become mentally stable.
Didn't Lev or others anticipate that? Lev might be foolish but not stupid. Or did they think her mentality would break instead? If so, shouldn't they attack conversely? Since Caligula was summoned by the Holy Grail, Lev should know...?
What are they aiming for? Or, are they working to accelerate Nero's beastification through misguided faith?
But I should be annoying... I don't understand. What are they plotting? Actually, this kind of analysis is more the expertise of Aífe, Deirdre, or Scáthach. Medb is good at this too...
Too many possibilities, so hypotheses just increase.
"Hmm..."
"What's wrong?"
"No, a headache. Recently, I didn't feel it much, but the headache is getting severe again... it's a headache from the damn poison, but it hurts more than before..."
"Then, I'll use a rune for pain relief."
I use a primordial rune on her to alleviate the pain...
"Did you use it...? It didn't improve at all... your magecraft isn't omnipotent, is it."
"No... it is omnipotent..."
This is... this isn't due to Locusta's poison. It's not the headache from the poison her mother Agrippina regularly fed her... it's pain from beastification. I thought she was sleeping well, but has it progressed quite a bit?
"Please bear with it. Probably, it will get better soon."
At this rate, I might not be able to prevent beast awakening... even if she awakens, Nero is Nero. Even if you awaken as an Evil of Humanity, I won't betray you.
A few hours of driving. While running, Nero appetizingly eats the lunchbox, and we continue dashing towards Massilia.
However... eventually, interference came.
"Bingo, my intuition was right after all?"
"My, my~ I lost the bet. What a shame."
The Emperor Alliance Army.
Alexander and Julius Caesar... and Zhuge Liang and Leonidas, I see. That side... is the 2nd emperor Tiberius? That old man is...
"Claudius came too..."
Well, well, are we meeting all the emperors? The first emperor was defeated but not killed, the 2nd and 4th are before my eyes, the 3rd Caligula is dead... so I've met all the previous emperors. The number of soldiers... how many are there? Seems like about 100,000.
As expected, are they gathering soldiers from all over Europe? Well, well, this is really not good.
"Perhaps I should try a surrender offer──"
Whoosh!!!!!
"──Huh?"
I immediately enhance with runes, use all my power for supersonic speed, employ Okita's footwork, charge forward, and with a full-force strike, shatter Leonidas's head. Then, I strike Zhuge Liang's chest hard, destroying his spiritual core.
Due to the shockwave from the two instantaneous blows, soldiers are sent flying.
"T-this is..."
"Fight with your mouth...? This is war. Need for dialogue? You are enemies, so I have no intention of holding back."
Crunch!!!
Immediately, I raise my hand like a blade and slash at Alexander, but his Noble Phantasm and partner, the horse Bucephalus, blocks in front. I slash through Bucephalus, embedding my hand-blade into the ground. A slash occurs, cutting through the soldiers behind and injuring Alexander.
"Ha... as expected, ridiculous. It's the first time I've seen an opponent that makes my body tremble from the start..."
"Losing the teacher from the start... indeed, clever. Eliminating the strategist and defense specialist to begin with."
For a rookie, his momentum is impressive. As expected of the future Conqueror King. However... he himself isn't that strong. Just a third-rate Servant. A third-rate who relies on abilities... Iskandar himself has poor skills. In the 4th War, excluding Gilles, his skills are the lowest. Worse than the Assassin Hundred Faces? Of course. In terms of skill alone, Hundred Faces with 100 personalities is ridiculous.
Hand-to-hand combat is nothing to fear. Zeus's lightning? Go ahead. It's not Zeus's own lightning, so it can't even scratch my steel body.
"For a king of a country, not bad."
Tiberius and Claudius also draw their swords and stay on guard, while the soldiers form a phalanx formation to watch me.
But... it must be hard to move, is it the emperors' charisma? Especially this man... indeed, the man who laid the foundation for the emperor. He already restored the disrupted formation. Truly a king who lived in the same era as me.
"Don't make it messy. Romans, defeat is not tolerated."
"Could it be... the majestic Julius Caesar. An unexpected prime appearance."
That must be the demon sword {Crocea Mors} (Golden Sword of the Conqueror). A demon sword even Arash would know. Caesar is its unique wielder... it seems like a simple demon sword that would match well with me.
A demon sword inscribed with spirit words, rune letters... interesting, but conversation ends here.
Boom...!
"Can you handle this much? To catch me, you need twice... no, three times more. What can you do with amateurs? Attacks from humans won't work. If you use magecraft, it might work... but what of it. Do you know why I'm a Grand Saber? Because I'm a swordsman? No... it's because my body itself is a sword. My body, trained to the extreme, is itself a demon sword, and for someone like me to wield a sword... you are unqualified. Rookies."
Due to the erupting magical energy, soldiers flinch, and some foam at the mouth and faint.
"I will protect Nero. That is my path and my belief. I'll give you 10 seconds to run away... this isn't good... again, I'll be called a mass murderer."