Mordred walked through the old-fashioned streets.
Because she was dressed lightly, and because her strikingly handsome face was so full of gallant beauty, she naturally drew plenty of attention... but no one dared to hit on her.
The hostility radiating from that small, slender body was enough to scare off any villain with bad intentions.
"Ugh, I really should've dragged Master out by force."
The "Red" Saber yawned in boredom.
The people passing by would all glance over because of the girl's beauty, then immediately look away.
Mordred knew she was attracting attention, and in her heart, she was almost hoping trouble would come looking for her.
Perhaps because she had dreamed of memories from her life again last night, the girl felt restless and stifled, and she wanted to vent by beating someone up.
Unfortunately, no one was stupid enough to pick a fight with her.
"What is Father doing right now..."
The girl leaned back against a public bench by the roadside, staring blankly into space.
In the end, she still could not figure out... what that person was thinking.
Since he had manifested as a Heroic Spirit, he must have received the relevant knowledge from the Holy Grail too...
In other words, Father already knew everything she had done in Britannia.
But he had said nothing.
He had neither scolded her nor expressed regret, as if he were deliberately avoiding the subject.
Not only that, he had even refused to let Mordred call him "Father."
Every time she thought of him, the girl felt as if her insides were being scorched.
"Does he not care what happens to me anymore..."
"I... I can't do it... Father..."
"No, you can."
"If you are the child of King Arthur and Morgan, then you can do it. Prove it to me, Mordred."
That conversation from the past echoed in the girl's mind.
Back then, when he looked at her with such encouraging eyes, Mordred truly felt as though she could do anything.
She wanted his approval.
She wanted even more of his recognition.
"...Sigh."
Mordred let out a sigh.
Just then, two familiar figures came into view.
At a table in an open-air café not far away, a young man and woman sat together, looking like a couple on a date.
"The coffee here isn't the only thing that's good. Even the sandwiches are delicious... Artorius, do you want a bite?"
"Oh, can I?"
"If you don't mind that I've already bitten into it, then here~"
The blonde girl held the half-eaten sandwich up to the red-haired boy's mouth, and he bit into it without the slightest hesitation.
"How is it?"
"Mm, it's not bad."
"You got some on your mouth."
The blonde girl took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of the boy's mouth, while he grumbled impatiently.
"Stop that, I can wipe it myself... What if someone sees?"
"Huuuuuh?"
Mordred's mouth fell open.
The young man and woman at the café turned around at the same time and saw Mordred across the street.
"'Red' Saber, why are you here?"
Jeanne, who was in the middle of wiping Shirou's mouth, blinked.
"..."
"..."
Shirou looked awkward and quickly pushed Jeanne's hand away.
Come to think of it, Shirou's base and Mordred's side's base were both located in the same city.
In a small town with a population of only thirty thousand, it was not strange at all for them to run into each other by chance.
Mordred studied Shirou's expression, then broke into a teasing smile.
"...Are you two sneaking around behind everyone's backs?"
"It's not like that..."
Just as Shirou was about to explain, the other person present, Jeanne, stopped him.
"That's right. We're on a date, and we even have the Master's permission."
"Huh?"
"What?"
Ignoring the two people who had frozen in shock, the Holy Maiden asked again, "'Red' Saber, would you like to sit with us? I don't mind having one more person."
"..."
Mordred looked between Shirou and Jeanne, then asked tentatively, "...Is that really okay?"
Jeanne glanced at Shirou with a bright smile. "Artorius doesn't seem very willing, but I'm perfectly fine with it."
Mordred walked over and pulled out a chair beside the two of them.
...
"The only reason I did that earlier was because I wanted to try the sandwich here, so I could attempt to recreate the same flavor myself when I have time later... That really is all."
As soon as Mordred sat down, Shirou explained himself to her.
"Hmph~"
Mordred propped her chin on one hand and turned her face away.
That was probably true, sure, but it still annoyed her.
"So what are you two actually doing here?"
"Jeanne and I are taking care of the ghouls Lancer left behind."
"It's just killing a few ghouls," Mordred said irritably. "Did that really need both of you to go out together?"
"That's why it's a date~"
"Ruler, please be quiet for a moment."
Shirou was speechless.
For some reason, Jeanne had been in an excited state ever since earlier.
The "Red" Saber gave an "Oh" and shrugged.
In any case, for as long as Mordred could remember, her Father had always been surrounded by all kinds of beautiful women. She had seen it so many times that it hardly surprised her anymore.
"Have you adjusted for tonight's battle?"
"It's no different from usual... I can fight anytime, anywhere."
Mordred answered casually.
Just then, the food she had ordered was brought over.
A roasted chicken sandwich, apple salad, seafood pasta, short ribs, three cupcakes for dessert, and a cup of coffee.
Jeanne stared dumbfounded at the food covering the entire table.
That appetite was already about the same as hers had been in life.
"Mordred can still eat as much as ever."
Shirou smiled and blurted it out.
The moment he said it, he frowned.
He was not Mordred's real father, so why had he said something like that...
Ever since coming to this world, Shirou had occasionally felt a strange sensation like déjà vu.
Was it the influence of Arthur's Spirit Origin?
Or perhaps.
"Come to think of it, the 'Red' Saber is Artorius's daughter, isn't she?
For parent and child to appear together in the Holy Grail War like this is, in a sense, something of a Mystery."
Both Shirou and Mordred froze.
Jeanne, as if she felt no psychological burden whatsoever, casually brought up the very topic the two of them wanted most to avoid.
What is wrong with this woman's head? Mordred thought.
Shirou said, "My true identity is King Arthur's stand-in..."
"Yes, yes~ King Arthur's stand-in, the Knight of the Round Table, the Black Knight of the Hidden Seat, Artorius, right?"
Jeanne no longer believed his explanation at all.
After all, just last night, during the battle against Caster's Noble Phantasm, "Golem Keter Malkuth."
Shirou had publicly spoken his True Name, "Arthur Albion."
Jeanne continued making conversation.
"'Red' Saber, what is your wish? If you win the Holy Grail War... what kind of wish do you want?"
Hearing that question, Shirou also looked over curiously.
Mordred stopped eating and met Shirou's eyes before saying, "I'm going to challenge The Sword of Selection, then become the true king."
Jeanne paused, then asked the exact same question Shishigou had asked back then.
"Um, what if you can't pull it out..."
"How could she possibly fail to pull it out?"
Shirou spoke first.
"..."
Mordred widened her eyes and looked at the red-haired boy in disbelief.
"Did I say something wrong, Mordred?" Shirou asked back.
Mordred shook her head. "No... no... you're right. Of course I can pull it out.
I'll become a king who surpasses Arthur, a greater king than that guy. Got a problem with that?"
Shirou smiled and said, "Of course not. I look forward to that day."
The red-haired boy and the blonde girl looked at each other, and there was a certain special understanding in their eyes.
What an awkward parent and child pair...
Jeanne silently watched the scene and could not help smiling.
Sigh... Will I be able to handle my relationship with Mordred and be a good stepmother to her?
It really is worrying. Mm.
"Hey, what are you smiling about? It's gross."
Mordred looked at Jeanne with obvious disgust.
"Mordred, is that little bit enough for you? Do you want to order more? I'll call the waiter for you."
"No need! And you're not allowed to call me that!"
The Holy Maiden's inexplicably attentive attitude made the girl feel a sudden chill for no reason.
In life, many women had tried to curry favor with Mordred and her younger sister in order to get close to her Father, such as the fairies who lived by the lake.
Jeanne looked exactly like those women right now. Her intentions were so obvious they might as well have been smacking Mordred in the face.
If Queen Mother found out she had gotten along with a woman who was scheming to get close to Father...
"Eek!"
The girl's shoulders trembled slightly.
...
Through the "Red" Assassin, the Servants received Amakusa Shirou's summons and gathered in the Audience Hall.
"According to the reports brought back by the pigeons, the 'Black' Saber and the Yggdmillennia clan seem to have joined forces through Ruler's mediation.
We can assume our information has already been leaked. As expected, the leak was most likely from the 'Black' Assassin."
The "Red" Heroic Spirits showed no surprise and accepted reality.
"What is the next operation?"
In response to Karna's question, Amakusa Shirou explained the situation further.
The Holy Grail reaction that had disappeared once had appeared again, and it was now moving toward the Romanian border.
Amakusa Shirou believed this was an excellent opportunity to seize the Greater Grail, and intended to act tonight.
"With all due respect, no matter how you look at it... this is a trap."
Atalanta said this with her arms crossed.
As the greatest female hunter of Greece, she possessed hunting instincts far beyond an ordinary person's, and she saw the problem at a glance.
Moreover, after two clashes, she was certain that the "Black" Saber was no pushover. There was no way he did not have plans of his own.
"I know. This is undoubtedly a trap meant to lure us to them. Even so, we must begin the Commencement of War."
Although Amakusa Shirou had stripped the Command Spells from the Masters of the Mage's Association, he could not seize their Magic Circuits as well, not the way Touko Aozaki could.
According to the original plan, Amakusa Shirou should have seized the Greater Grail several days ago, then used Ruler's authority to modify it so that it supplied Mana to the "Red" Heroic Spirits as a group.
But that plan had fallen apart because of a certain person's intrusion.
In other words, he had been providing Mana for six Heroic Spirits all by himself up until now.
Like Yggdmillennia, he had accumulated a great deal of resources during the sixty years he spent lying low, but after several consecutive days of battle, those reserves were nearly exhausted.
Put another way, he was not actively seeking battle. He had been pushed into a desperate situation where he had no choice but to begin the Commencement of War.
Fortunately, the "Red" faction's main forces were still alive.
As long as they could deal with the most troublesome "Black" Saber, their odds of victory remained very high.
"Leave the 'Black' Saber to me. I will not fail."
Karna sensed his Master's distress and volunteered to face the strongest enemy.
His expression was cold, but a flame of fighting spirit burned in his eyes.
In their previous clash, the battle had ended without a clear victor, but there was no denying that the "Black" Saber had broken through Karna's prized Golden Armor.
From that moment on, Karna had lost interest in the Holy Grail War itself and focused all his attention on that man.
He was a hero unlike any opponent Karna had fought before.
Karna wanted to cross blades with that King again, and had recognized him as an enemy he must defeat. For a warrior, there was no greater honor or joy.
In his second life, the Son of the Sun God finally understood that his own "personal desire" lay on the battlefield.
For Karna, joy could only be found in battle.
It was the instant when he focused everything he was onto the tip of his spear, freed from every worry and thought, and could reveal his "true self" without reservation.
Though it was not out of arrogance, he even believed his life existed for the sake of savoring that instant of joy when he clashed with a powerful foe.
So when Karna realized that the "Black" Saber was the first "hero stronger than himself" he had ever encountered, an unprecedented fighting spirit rose within him.
The great hero swore to give everything he had.
...
When Shirou, Jeanne, and Mordred arrived at the ambush site, the Heroic Spirits of the "Black" faction were already waiting.
"I will not participate in your battle tonight."
Jeanne stated her intentions plainly.
Her position had not changed. Her first priority was still to speak peacefully with Amakusa Shirou.
She would decide what to do only after understanding his intentions. Until then, she would not help either side.
"Huh? What the hell? I thought you were going to help!" Mordred said unhappily.
"If the 'Red' faction continues to attack me, I will naturally take countermeasures."
"You really do take fairness and justice all the way to the end," the Rebel Knight said sarcastically.
"All right, stop arguing! I see it!"
Everyone looked in the direction pointed out by the "Black" Rider.
Far above them, at an altitude beyond human reach, a black silhouette like a city in the sky appeared.
"The Hanging Gardens of Babylon."
No matter how many times they saw it, its majesty still left them in awe. Even the shadow it cast was enough to cover everyone below.
The Greater Grail had already been buried beneath the ground where they stood.
If, as Caster had said, Amakusa Shirou was the Ruler left over from the previous Holy Grail War, then he should be able to detect its exact location.
That meant there was only one thing left for the "Red" faction to do.
"BOOM————————!"
A tornado blew out from the bottom of the Hanging Garden, quickly forming a vacuum tunnel that connected the sky and the earth.
Semiramis used the same trick again, intending to suck the Greater Grail into the Hanging Garden once more.
In an instant, the ground beneath everyone's feet collapsed, and a vast amount of earth was pulled upward along with the Golden Cup.
Flying into the sky together with the Holy Grail were Shirou, Jeanne, and the Servants of the "Black" faction.
This was Shirou's plan for the decisive battle.
He would not think of a way to infiltrate the Hanging Garden. Instead, he would have Her Majesty the Empress invite them in herself.
Since Shirou was holding the Holy Grail tightly in his arms, the enemy did not dare act rashly.
The autonomous interception Mystic Codes deployed around the fortress, "Tiamtum Ūmu: Eleven Black Coffins," had now become nothing more than decorations lined up to welcome the enemy inside.
"...Excuse us."
As Shirou stored the Holy Grail in his treasury, he stepped into the Queen's Garden, an interior space that seemed to extend without end.
***
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