[Fate/ninth heaven] Forgotten Wings; menage à trois [route I, day 4]

[feral-phoenix.livejournal.com]

Masterlist and readme are here.

menage à trois

  —This is a story.
  This is an old story from days when the world was much younger than it is now.

  The world was young, but the heavens were old, and so was the war that was going on between the gods and the demons.
  …It got so that the gods were becoming desperate, and starting to break more and more taboos in order to keep the demons away from heaven and maintain the balance of power.
  Because the angels and the armies weren’t strong enough to really fight.

  First of all, only gods are supposed to have the power of gods.
  That’s a rule so simple it shouldn’t need to be said.
  If mortals had the power of gods, they’d surely misuse it.
  But the gods knew that if their power wasn’t spread out to enough people to make an army, they were going to lose their war, and so they came up with a plan—to create such an army, but to make each soldier flawed in a way that would compensate for their godly power.
  …You can’t add something to something that’s already whole, and doing so is dangerous. That’s a principle that’s the same in magic and art and lots of things, so it holds true here too.
  If you want to add something, the easiest way to do it is to take something away first.

  —It wasn’t a new concept by the time he was born.
  These soldiers, the angels who carried death, were first created hundreds of years ago by the time he was alive.
  He knew about them, learned about what kinds of lives they led, and many of his peers were afraid or excited that they might be chosen to take the place of those that died fighting demons.
  He was a scholar first and foremost, so it would have been bad if he hadn’t understood such a thing.

  …He came from a proud family whose grandeur was like a rusting palace.
  His parents’ families, on both sides, were warriors and priests, and he was brought up to know that serving the gods and the heavens came even before his own life.
  It was neither a warm household nor a cold one.
  His parents didn’t seem to particularly care about him unless he was holding up or tarnishing the family name.
  …He went about his business having learned not to expect anything from them, but I think that somewhere deep inside, he still hoped.
  He still hoped that his father would smile and say that he was proud, or that his mother would put her arms around him.
  …He couldn’t remember either thing ever happening.

  I think he was sure to have known.
  The soldiers came and told him of the council’s decision, and his only response was a quiet “thank you”.
  With folded hands and a calm expression, he saw the soldiers off politely and gathered his few belongings before he went back to the home that wasn’t his home and informed his parents in much the same terms.
  They nodded and accepted it as a matter of course too.

  In the end.
  In the end, what did he gain?
  Was it an escape, or was it a death sentence?
  —What was it about that cold place that gave him a reason to throw his peaceful life away?

  …
  ……
  ………
  ……………I wake up.
  I’m staring at the familiar ceiling of my room, and my chest hurts like it’s been burned.
  …I remember.
  I remember that I was having a strange dream.

  “…Jeez, what an idiot.”
  I raise my hand and place it to my face, as my eyes are burning.
  I wipe my wet face and close my hurting eyes.
  “And his parents were idiots too. Everyone around him was an idiot, so how could he have known not to be an idiot?”
  I was having a dream about a story I loved a lot as a kid, but the way I saw things was very different, and I was dreaming about the daily life of an angel instead of battles or anything thrilling.
  …It’s rare for my chest to hurt this much from a dream, but it really was stupid, and I’m mad because it wasn’t fair.
  When somebody’s trying his best, he should be rewarded for it, after all.
  When somebody makes a lot of sacrifices, he should gain more and more things to compensate for what he loses until he can be happy again.

  I head into the bathroom and wash my face.
  I don’t feel all that sleepy, but a daily routine is a good thing to follow.
  …I get dressed and head for the living room sluggishly.

  When I get there…
  Rose is slouched on one side of the table,
  and a scarlet knight with black wings is sitting Japanese-style on the other.

  …Hold on.
  Hold on one minute.
  …My head starts boiling up with confusion as I go over my memories from yesterday.
  …So all of that, really did happen…?

  The Grail War.
  Being chosen as a Master instead of Rose, and a ridiculous battle that kept getting more and more unbelievable by the second.
  And—the figure of this knight fighting desperately,
  his side stained painfully with blood—

  Oh.
  I’m a terrible Master.
  How can I be standing here with a confused head when there’s something important I have to confirm—?!

  “Lancer, are you all right now?”
  “—Eh?”
  For a moment, Lancer just looks at me like this is the last thing he ever expected to hear.
  …Oh, he’s making a really startled face.
  He recovers and touches his side, where the wound was.
  “…Yes. The injury is almost recovered.”
  I smile with relief.
  “Good, that’s good. I don’t know what we would have done if you’d been really hurt. I was worried about you.”
  …Lancer is frowning as though this is an unexpected thing for me to say.
  “Anyhow, good morning, you two.”
  I sit down.
  …Rose stares at me and clears her throat.
  “Uh. What is it, Rose?”
  …She’s glaring at me. She’s definitely glaring at me with the fire of a personal grudge.
  “Where’s my apology?”
  “—Huh?”
  ……I don’t know what she’s talking about, but she makes a furious face and pounds the table with her fist.
  “My apology! For making us worry about you! At the very least, the idiot Master that fainted from lack of magical energy yesterday should make us breakfast to show how sorry he is! You’re horrible!”
  On one side of the table, Rose is glaring ferociously at me, and from the other Lancer is staring at me with a blank face.
  Uh. …Uh. They’re both really mad.
  I’m happy that they worried about me, but they look really mad.
  “—I’m sorry, then. I’m sorry I scared you guys, and thanks. I don’t mind making breakfast. What do you want?”
  Rose sighs as if admitting defeat.
  “You’re not exactly up to making French toast, so an omelet will do. Don’t burn it, and no onions, okay?”
  “—Okay. Yeah, I’ve got it. And I know better than to give you onions.”
  I get up from the table and head into the kitchen, pulling bowls and pans from the cabinets and taking an egg out of the refrigerator.
  I crack the egg and start to whisk it, but then stop when I realize something important.

  “—Lancer? What do you want to eat?”
  I turn around.
  Lancer is staring at me with a confused face again.
  “Maybe I should ask if there’s anything you don’t like or can’t eat. Um, and what about allergies and things?”
  …Rose is giggling off in her corner. I’m happy that she’s in a better mood, but I wish she wouldn’t make fun. Lancer seems more confused than ever.
  “—Master, what exactly are your intentions?”
  I sigh.
  …He’s back to calling me Master. Maybe I just imagined that last night.
  “Look, Lancer. You’re my Servant, and I would be an even more unfit Master for you if I didn’t at least make sure you’re eating properly. Can you eat eggs?”
  “——”
  Now Lancer has a face that says he’s not sure what to do about me.
  …Well, I’m feeding him no matter what, so he’d better get used to it.
  “I guess I’ll make you an omelet like Rose’s, then. Um, if there’s anything about it you don’t like, tell me. And if you ever want to cook, just tell one of us, since we usually switch off making meals.”

  I make the omelets for Rose and Lancer before I make my own.
  I bring the plates out with chopsticks and Western silverware, as I don’t know which kinds of utensils Lancer is used to using.
  When I head back to the kitchen to finish up and put the pots and pans in the sink for later, I hear Rose speaking to Lancer.
  “—It’s pretty pointless to try to resist. This is just the kind of person Ein is.
  “See, no matter how much you try to act like a tool to achieve the Holy Grail—he’s going to look at you and see a person. So you can relax, because you won’t ever suffer any mistreatment here.
  “He’s kind of an idiot, I know. But there are worse Masters to have, I’m sure.”
  Lancer doesn’t say anything.
  He doesn’t say anything, but when I look back, he has a piece of egg on the end of a fork.

  Breakfast is over, and the dishes have been finished, so we sit around the table.
  Rose straightens up.
  “Okay, we should probably talk a little bit about what we learned yesterday and what we’re going to do from here.”
  …I’m relieved. I was wondering how I was going to be able to ask her what we’re supposed to do now.
  To my surprise, Lancer looks to her and interrupts.
  “There’s something else that must be discussed, as well. I should have mentioned it far earlier, but there was no convenient time yesterday.
  “—It’s about my true name.”
  Oh.
  Now that you mention it—I never got to hear Lancer’s real name.
  Because Servants are heroes, they have legends associated with them, and those legends explain their strengths and weaknesses.
  If one knows their name and identity, one can understand their weapon and their powers from there, so Servants are usually called by their class names to conceal their weaknesses.
  Lancer is called Lancer because he was summoned into the Lancer class.
  He has a name and a story, too.
  “All right then, Lancer. Will you tell us about yourself?”

  Lancer inclines his head slightly.

  “My true name is Ledah Rozwelli, Grim Angel of Asgard.
  “My Noble Phantasm is my Diviner, the divine spear Lorelei.”
  —The scarlet knight declares so readily.

  …A story I’m familiar with, and heroes that I idolized when I was a kid.
  …His name is a name I certainly know.
  In an age of heroes, he was a knight who slew many more demons than the rest, called upon by the gods again and again to strike down their foes until the time of his death.
  …And such a person is actually sitting at the same table as me now.
  This really is the Holy Grail War.

  “Ein.”
  He speaks quietly, his gaze unwavering as he looks only at me.
  “As I was the blade of the gods in life, I am your weapon now. As long as it is you who wields me—we will surely win this war.”

  His words send a thrill through my body.
  My skin is prickling and I can barely breathe.
  …And yet.
  Somehow I feel as though there’s something seriously wrong with what he just said.

  …That’s right.
  That emotionless voice and expressionless face.
  It’s like Rose said before, after all.
  Lancer, the hero Ledah Rozwelli, is a Servant and a Heroic Spirit.
  I grew up on stories of people like him, and yet the scarlet knight sitting in front of me is a living and breathing creature.
  The pale gold of his hair that falls around his face, and the white skin of his hands.
  The black wings that shift as he breathes.
  The strange faces he makes sometimes when he doesn’t understand things, or doesn’t approve of them.
  …I don’t want him to talk about himself as if he’s a “thing”.

  “…Okay, so with this, we’ll be able to make plans that fit more to Lancer’s strengths.”
  Rose nods and looks satisfied with the card we’ve drawn.
  “From here, we’ve got a couple of different things we should talk about. First, we learned some important things yesterday and we should go over them. Second, it’s about what we’ll be doing today.”
  “—All right. We should probably go over what we know first. You’re smart, Rose, and so is Lancer, but I don’t want to misunderstand anything.”
  Rose smiles like a benevolent victor, and Lancer gives me a concerned face.
  “Probably most importantly, we got to see a lot of other Servants yesterday on our first day of the Grail War—Rider, Archer, and Saber. So we can easily understand the enemy’s strength if we look at their Servants, and we can make guesses about the Masters.”
  “—Wait a minute, Rose. We don’t know who any of those Servants are, so how would we be able to predict their strength?”
  Rose folds her arms.
  “…And here I thought you were supposed to be our authority on heroes. If you’ve got that attitude, we’ve lost before we’ve even begun.
  “Look, even though they didn’t use any of them, all those Servants were carrying their Noble Phantasms, right? I didn’t get a clear look at Archer’s, but I’m sure we can research those big lances that the two Riders had, and giant swords like Saber’s are pretty unique.
  “Besides, Archer and the Riders knew each other, so we can go off of that, too.”
  I’m impressed.
  Rose is right that I know a lot about heroes, but she’s much better with logic than I am.
  “…I think I can make a good guess about Archer and the Riders, though. Ein, did you get a good look at their armor? Both of the Riders were wearing a crest stamped on theirs.”
  …A crest?
  Like a coat of arms or some such thing?
  —Come to think of it, I think there was something like that.
  “…I think you’re right, but I didn’t get a good look at it.”
  Rose nods and sighs.
  “It was a pretty simple one—a running horse and a lance. You know where that coat of arms is from, right?”
  “Um—let me think. It depends a little on how it actually looked, but the first thing that’s coming to mind is the Aventheim knights…”
  …Rose looks really pleased.
  “Exactly. I’m sure that was it, and it makes sense, doesn’t it?”
  “—Aventheim, the land of a hundred heroes… huh? It’s true that that’s the only legend that has much chance of two mounted knights and an archer would be likely to know each other well.”
  The Riders and Archer clearly knew each other’s names and identities, and they shouldn’t be able to do so as Heroic Spirits.

  —Aventheim, land of a hundred heroes.
  The story is similar in some ways to King Arthur and the Round Table, in that it was a small area filled with small countries and fiefdoms, all governed by one king and his army of knights.
  The legend that made it the land of a hundred heroes tells of an age where that army was wiped out fighting demons, and their souls were united by the king to drive the demons away.
  …Come to think of it, there were a few angels in that legend too.
  At any rate, it’s said that every one of those knights were venerated by the survivors, and became Heroic Spirits. There were over a hundred of them, hence the name “land of a hundred heroes”.

  “But if that’s true, how are we going to figure out which heroes they are? I left all my books on Aventheim with Hector-sama’s servants when we moved here, and it would take too long to call and ask for them to be mailed here.”
  Rose puts her hands on her hips.
  “Well, we could always use the Internet or the libraries here, right? For now, the important thing is that the legend of Aventheim isn’t too well-known these days. And even with the people who know about it, the most well-known heroes in the story are Meria and the Lionheart King, not the knights themselves. Because of that, the Riders and Archer are all going to be weaker.”
  “…Why is that?”
  “Heroic Spirits are strengthened by the will of the people, since the wishes of humanity are what create heroes in the first place. So the more people there are who know about and like them in the age that they’re summoned, the more powerful they are. Make sense?”
  I guess so, and so I nod.
  …There’s something weird about popularity having to do with a Servant’s strength, though.
  “Because of that, what makes the two Riders dangerous is just that there are two of them.
  “There’s a record that in the Third Grail War, the Edelfelt family participated. Since their family tends to have twins, they perfected the art of twinning their Magic Crests as well, and both the magi of that generation became Masters. They used their natural attributes to summon two Sabers.
  “I think the Masters we saw probably did something along those lines to summon two Riders. But only the Edelfelt family should have an art like that, which makes it suspicious. At any rate, it’s definitely cheating. The Riders by themselves would be weak Servants because of their unknown backgrounds, but they’re heroes summoned from the same legend and so they already know how to work together, and they have powerful Masters. So it’s impossible to face them head-on unless you have a perfect Servant, or unless you have more than one.
  “And on top of that, Nana’s Rider has a demonic lance, which might be a problem for Lancer if he has to fight both of them.”
  While Rose sulks about the strength of the enemy’s strategy, I turn to Lancer.
  “…This may be the case. However, I cannot accurately gauge the strength of Rider’s demonic lance unless I know its true name or do battle with her again.”
  “I see. Well, Rose, what about Archer?”
  “In Archer’s case, he seemed like a pretty solid Servant, but Lancer could probably take him down if they ever fought hand-to-hand. Have some more faith in your Servant, Ein. Lancer’s the best of the best.”
  …Uh, Rose is glaring at me suspiciously.
  “In their case, it’s more about the strength of Archer’s Master, that Vienya girl. And speaking of her, she sure was acting awfully friendly towards you last night.”
  “Um, that’s because I met her once before. I didn’t know she was a Master or even a magus then, and it was probably before she even summoned Archer anyway. Don’t look at me like that, she was having trouble with a vending machine! It’s natural to help someone who’s having a hard time at something, isn’t it?!”
  Rose covers her face with both hands, and Lancer continues to watch me impassively.
  “…You’re unbelievable. Even at her age, that girl’s a top-class magus and familiar-user. You can’t underestimate her because of her looks or even if she’s weak against technology… well, if her rationale for helping us was because of you being an idiot, I can’t complain too much, but even so.”
  Ugh.
  …She’s glaring at me again.
  She’s glaring at me again, but I’m not going to surrender so easily this time.
  “Well, they say you’re repaid in kind for good deeds, after all.”
  Rose slams down on the table.
  “You idiot! All this really accomplished is that you’re going to have trouble fighting her when the time comes! When she’s ready to kill you, you’re gonna get caught up in her fake cute-little-girl act and just let her kill you! She’s a familiar-user, Ein! She’s even too lazy to talk for herself, and makes her minions do it for her!”
  Rose burns with the furious fire of unforgiven grudges.
  “…Rose, I don’t think she can talk. She never said a word when we met before, after all.”
  “Shut it, Ein! She’s a familiar-user, all familiar-users are lazy, and it’s a stupid and evil kind of magic! Everyone who uses it is stupid and evil! I will not allow myself to be wrong!”
  ………Rose, you would have been using familiar magic yourself if you’d become a Master.
  “—Like I said, it’s not lazy if that’s the only way she can communicate. It’s not good to make fun of people with disabilities.”
  Rose fumes.
  I can’t surrender to her angry face, and turn to Lancer again.
  “…so that’s the case with the Riders and their Masters, and Archer. For now, Vienya isn’t hostile, which leaves Saber and her Master.”
  Lancer bites his lip.
  “…Master, there is one thing that concerns me. Saber’s sword is clearly divine, although she is a mortal hero. I am not familiar with such a weapon, and I cannot conceive of a situation in which a human would be granted such power.”
  “Well, if it’s a divine sword, then it should be even easier to find out her identity, right? This is history, not anime, so how many girls her age could there have been running around with swords like that?”
  Lancer looks puzzled, and Rose shakes her head.
  “And as for the strength of the Master…”
  “He’s competent, probably around my level or above from what I could tell. Of course there’s no way to really understand his skills until he uses them.”
  Rose volunteers this, no longer sulking.
  “He’s also got that same infatuation with fair play that you have. Man, who’d ever have thought we’d run into another idiot like that in the same Grail War? He didn’t have anywhere near the amount of blood in his aura as any of the other magi did.
  “—And even more than that, when you fainted before, he was just as worried as the two of us were. He and Saber, and Archer and that Vienya girl, all left when we decided to take you home. Yeah, that’s a dangerously good nature to have.”
  Rose nods seriously, although she seems in a better mood now that she’s making fun of someone. …I can’t really interrupt her, but something seems wrong with the way she’s acting.
  “Still, he probably wouldn’t back down in a fight, so it’s not like we can underestimate him. Anyhow, that about wraps up what we learned from yesterday.”

  Vague clues to the identities of our opponents,
  an idea that those opponents are at least as powerful as we are or more,
  and the knowledge that attacking the Riders as we are is a dead end.
  …That’s not much, considering that the events of yesterday nearly cost us our lives.

  “Thanks, Rose. I think I understand a little better the position that we’re in. So what about what we’re going to do today?”
  Rose makes an uncomfortable face.
  “…There’s not much that we can do, unfortunately. I’m still recovering my magical energy, and you shouldn’t use much magic right now. We should make a patrol plan for tomorrow, and there are still some details that I need to teach you about being a Master. Lancer can help with that, too, but for today the best plan would be to stay inside this house’s protective barrier.”
  “—Yeah, the boundary field would probably be able to keep us safe even if intruders did come to attack us. But it feels weird that we’re just sitting around when this is supposed to be a battle.”
  Rose covers her face with her hand.
  “Hey, now. We can’t go having big magical fights during the daytime, remember? There are only a few places here where we could actually fight without being seen. Especially with that in mind, the only reason to go out during the day would be to try to find out who other Masters are. And we don’t want to go attracting the attention of other magi in the state we’re in today.”
  “…Oh, that’s right.”
  That’s certainly true.
  So all that’s left for today, is…

  In the end, things were pretty uneventful.
  We talked a lot, and then showed Lancer around the house. Rose ransacked the kitchen in search of ingredients for dinner, and I wound up helping make dessert. After that, Rose sat me down and told me to meditate while she checked over my Magic Circuit.
  “Starting tomorrow we might have to fight, so it would be better to make sure you’re in top shape—”
  I silently agreed and let her examine me as I emptied my mind and let my body relax.
  After a while, Rose nodded and proclaimed that I was in good shape. Then she suggested something strange.
  “Every night, instead of just meditating, you should try to work a little on projection and reinforcement.”
  “—Huh?”
  “I’m saying that if we’re fighting, you might get attacked while Lancer and I are busy, and you won’t be able to defend yourself if you can’t at least make some kind of weapon. It’s a last-ditch resort and I don’t expect too much, but it’s better than nothing.”
  I protested about how little success Rose knew I had, but she waved my words away.
  “—Look, Ein. The only thing that’s really wrong with your projection skills is that you don’t have enough confidence in your image. Projection can only be successful if you believe in it. Practice can’t hurt either. You should start tomorrow, okay?”
  After that she declared it was bedtime.
  Which, um…
  …seems to have led to this uncomfortable situation.

  “Master, you’re being unreasonable. This is dangerous, and can only result in further problems.”
  “—Like I said, there’s no danger inside the barrier, and you can’t. I’m telling you that you can’t. That’s an order from your Master, all right?”
  Lancer stares at me reproachfully, his entire body tense.
  —I have an intense feeling of being scolded.
  Meanwhile, the demon in black is laughing at me.
  …Hey, Rose, help me out here.
  “A Servant must always protect his Master, and during the hours you are asleep, you are the most vulnerable to attack. I demand—no, it is not a demand; I insist that I be positioned in the same room you sleep, to guard you at all times.”
  Seriously, Rose, now isn’t the time to make faces at me. How do I convince Lancer that this is the worst of ideas?
  “—And like I’m telling you, if you stayed in my room it would defeat the purpose. I wouldn’t get any sleep at all that way.”
  Um, because it would be difficult to sleep with such an intense stare on me. And more than that, I’m worried. I’m really worried because it would make me uncomfortable for so many reasons.
  “Lancer, why don’t you just give up and stay in the guest room? It’s right next to Ein’s.”
  …Thank God, it looks like Rose has finally taken pity on me here.
  “If you keep going on like this, none of us are going to get any sleep, and Ein will wind up using a Command Spell to make you obey. How sad, I didn’t realize that Lancer was such a disobedient Servant.”
  She’s teasing him.
  …She’s totally and completely teasing him.
  “…ugh.”
  “With the barrier, we’ll know if we’re getting attacked, which should give you plenty of time to get to Ein’s room and protect him if anyone hacks through our protections. Honestly, though, none of the magi we saw yesterday are capable of doing that, and the same goes for their Servants. Caster might be a different story, but if Caster attacks us you’ll be able to fight him or her easily with your magical defense.”
  “——”
  Lancer stares intensely at us for a long while, but nods his head at long last.
  …Finally.
  His eyes are telling me what a fool I am, but I’d never be able to sleep with Lancer in the same room as me.

  After saying goodnight to the others, I head into my room and turn off the lights, then get into bed.
  Today has been an exhausting day.
  —As expected, Rose is taking full advantage. She’s scary, and she’s still angry with me for taking her place.
  Well, I can’t blame her. She’s been looking forward to this for a long time.
  We have so many powerful enemies.
  And I wonder…
  I wonder how long it’s going to take for Lancer to stop being angry at me…