flightworks | [Fate/ninth heaven] Vagrant Grail Cadenza; superscription [route III, day 5] (Reply)

Masterlist and readme are here.

superscription

—This is the story of someone dear to me.

The transition was an odd thing to get used to.
It was the first time that he had really had someplace that could be considered a “home”.
Looking back on things, it was a rather Spartan place to live, as the new quarters that he and his friends were given was after all a military barracks.
But he had his own room, with a real bed that he was able to have to himself.
Actual furniture, like a desk and chairs and a set of drawers in which to keep his few possessions.
There was a real kitchen with decent equipment at which they traded off turns for cooking, like all the other chores to maintain the building. With that real kitchen came decent food supplies.
It was the first time that he could remember really being provided for.
Too, he and his friends received salaries for the first time.

They had responsibilities, of course; they did not simply receive without having to work in return. Their employer was not so lenient a man.
Within the first few days of being installed in their new lodgings, he and the others were expected to begin training new soldiers.
They all had to learn to give orders and work in groups.
It was bewildering.
The days passed in a haze of surprise and mild unease as he waited for the other shoe to drop.
It didn’t.
After a while, the discomfort of settling into his new way of life eased away.

And with that came their real job—undertaking missions that their landgrave employer assigned unto them.

After having escorted the landgrave to the capital city on business, watching him deal with the emperor, and then nearly coming to blows after an incident on the way back, his opinion of the man began to settle.
Basically, the landgrave was incredibly frustrating to deal with.
He was stubborn and intelligent, had very strong opinions on what should be done with the government and the country, and had extremely high expectations.
Furthermore, he didn’t like to be disobeyed, and became harsh and irritable during arguments.
The first time it actually happened was on the way back from the capital.
Passing through another town at night, they came upon a scuffle in which two young girls were being chased by soldiers.
He hadn’t liked to see people in distress.
It was his usual inability to ignore those in pain, and so he mobilized their small army to beat off the girls’ pursuers.
But at that time, the landgrave had ordered him to refrain from doing battle, as they did not know enough about the situation.
In the end it all turned out in even the landgrave’s favor, as the girls were the adopted children of that town’s deceased ruler, and if they joined the army under his protection, then he would be able to assume control of their land—

But even so, he knew: The landgrave did not like having been disobeyed.
When they returned to the barracks, he was told as such.
…At that time.
He was barely even able to hear, his body flooded with adrenaline and panic, preparing for the blow that was sure to come.
But.
The landgrave never raised a hand to him.
He was arrogant and fussy and cold, and was forever trying to see how he would be able to use any given situation to his benefit—but he was a very fair-minded man.
He believed in the power of words over the power of violence, and his integrity was such that he would rather obtain obedience through force of personality than corporal punishment.

It was the first time that an argument with an older man had not led to his being struck.
…At the time.
He had been so afraid that even though he attempted to hide it and seem strong to defend his point, he had probably been pale and shaking.
After the interview, he felt so ill that he had to go lie down to settle his panicky nerves and churning stomach.
But.
He’d never been hit.
And he began to realize mentally that physical violence would never be a thing that this man used against him.
…It was very subtle at the time, and he probably didn’t realize it consciously.
But even so, he who had never had an adult to guide him began to desire that nobleman’s respect.

After that, the time they spent away from the barracks slowly began to increase.
He set out with his men in order to try to find a supervisor for their training.
The landgrave had suggested a certain border patrol officer, a knight.
…That man was about the age of the former vigilantes, and aside from that he had been involved indirectly in something of a scandal not long ago.
If he could be recruited, he might eventually be trusted with their ideals, which could be seen as rebellious if misunderstood.

But when he and his friends finally found the knight in question, he knew right away that it wasn’t going to work out.
The knight was too volatile.
Some of it was definitely just that his personality was problematic.
But that wasn’t all of it.
He was hard on his soldiers to the point of threatening execution for small mistakes, and even though his deputies tried to calm him down he wouldn’t listen to reason.
When interfered with by the landgrave’s men, he refused to let the insult of the hindrance go and picked a fight with them, inciting the young captain’s bad temper.
…And then after the two sides came to blows and the knight lost, he ran and hid in his quarters out of the shock.

While the imperial soldiers and the newly-formed private army rested, he had the situation explained to him.
That the “scandal” the landgrave had mentioned was the execution of the knight’s parents on baseless suspicion of treason.
The knight himself was considered guilty by association, but rather than being killed, the emperor had had his face branded and ordered him demoted.
It was true that perhaps from an outsider’s perspective a man like this, a victim of the empire’s injustice, would be an ideal ally in combating it.
But the young captain knew.
Someone who had been hurt so badly, and who had never been given shelter, was like a rabid dog biting at anything that came near out of terror and misdirected hatred.

And he also knew.
That if his two best friends had not been there to give him safety and solace from a young age, there was a high probability that he might have turned out just as indiscriminately violent as this knight now was.

He couldn’t help it.
Someone so empathetic that he could not bear even the implication of injustice surely could not have done anything else.
Anger at the man who had insulted him wasn’t even an option; instead, he had a strong desire to try to heal his former opponent, even a little bit.
To communicate that even after losing so much, there was more to the world than pain.

But it wasn’t to be.
His power was still too paltry a thing, and the knight’s wounds were still too raw.
All he could do was look on, and watch as the knight parted ways with the army.
That man’s path would surely be a harsh and lonely one.
The distance between them was very small, but it was still too great for him to cross just by reaching out a hand.

—Someday.
If it was still possible, if they met again—he wanted to be strong enough, wise enough to be able to do something at that time.

And so.
Those days began slowly.
Like great clockwork gears beginning to creak into motion after a long rest.
The boy, who had begun running towards a goal he still couldn’t see, experienced another great expansion of the “world” within him—

“—”
I wake with a much clearer head than I have had in a long time.
There are a number of things that I become aware of, slowly, one by one.
It’s still quite cold, but I’m still wrapped up in various layers of thin fabric.
What’s more, the stove is still burning very low, heating up the shack.
And Gulcasa is lying beside me again, his arm a pleasant weight over my waist.

“…Hm.”
Last night.
…My physical condition became rather strange before I finally fell asleep.
And I know that I feel somewhat different today.

It takes a bit of effort to dislodge Gulcasa enough that I can sit up, but after doing so the slightly cooler air helps me to think.
…I see.
There is a sense of something “missing” through the extra perception of Servants I have been given, and then a sense of “fullness” and “wrongness” where there was nothing before.

“So… someone has already retired.”

I say it aloud, tasting the words a bit.

“—”
It is still very early into the war.
It wasn’t until two days ago that the battle even formally started.
But even so, a Servant has already fallen.

That is probably connected with what happened to me last night.
…I had expected that there would be some ill effects, but not quite to this degree.
Well, it all comes down to the fact that I am unsuited for this no matter how you put it.

“Then, every time a Servant is defeated—”
I have to factor into my plans that there will be some ill effects on my body.
Perhaps I should be grateful that I have been allowed that amount of knowledge this early.
And to top it off, at a time when only Gulcasa was with me.
Now that I know, I simply have to brace myself to deal with dizziness and such during the times when Masters would be active.

And, perhaps most importantly, when we are in battle ourselves it will probably become necessary to disable the enemy Masters before defeating the Servants.
If they continue to attack even after their Servant has been defeated and I’m in such a state, that might become a bit problematic.
I sigh.

“—This will get to be troublesome.”
“…What will?”

Oh.
Gulcasa, who had been asleep beside me when last I looked, is now awake and glancing up at me from where he lies.

…Hmm.
I’m still not sure how to phrase my explanation of what’s happening to me so that he won’t panic, so let’s leave that for a while.

“I’m referring to what happened last night.
“—If that ever happens again at a point when enemies are around, that might put an unnecessary burden on you in combat.
“And, of course, you still do need me to back you up. You’ll have your hands full with the other Servants, and during that time I will probably be able to deal with any enemy Masters.”

Gulcasa looks at me for a while, but he seems to accept my words.
Slowly, he levers himself up.

“More importantly, I’m sorry if I woke you by talking to myself.
“—It’s a bad habit.”

Gulcasa shakes his head, telling me that my apology is not needed.
His long hair flutters, and his pale gaze settles on me intensely.
“Are you feeling any better now that you’ve slept?”

“—Yes.
“The abnormalities are gone. I should not have any trouble today.
“In fact, we should resume our search for other Masters, because the war is continuing without us.
“…One of our opponents has already fallen.”

Gulcasa stares at me, perplexed.
“—You can sense that?”

I shake my head.
…It’s going to be difficult to explain this without really going into the details.
But this is my burden to bear, and even though Gulcasa is my Servant I don’t want him to be involved with this if such a thing is possible.

“…In a way.
“I don’t sense Servants the way that you would, but I can sense that they ‘exist’, tethered to the world by the Grand Grail of Fuyuki and to the vessel of the Lesser Grail.
“You can think of it sort of like cat’s cradle, the game that children play with string.
“The two grails and the ley lines of the town are strings, and the existence of the Servants are extra strings that help make up the pattern.
“To someone who is able to sense that pattern on an essential level, it’s obvious when a string is removed because that changes the entire pattern.
“It’s like how a spider is able to sense any irregularities in its web.
“It’s a sort of ‘extra sense’, and I can feel the magical topography of Fuyuki and how it changes, although it’s very difficult to explain the sensation.
“Part of it is on a spiritual level, and some of it is also physical, like synesthesia.”

“Hmm.”
Gulcasa tilts his head to the side as if he is considering my words carefully.
“So then, was the abrupt change in the pattern part of what caused your condition to get worse all of a sudden?”

“—That’s a distinct possibility.
“Of course, I only actually realized that one of the Servants is gone this morning, after I woke up and my head was clearer.
“…It’s a little bit inconvenient; I don’t know which Servant has even retired, nor what’s happened to their Master.
“I suppose if we had any way to check the news then we might hear about any recent murders or hospitalizations, but…”

“Hmm.
“Then, we could always check when we go into town.”
Gulcasa says so reasonably.
“We do need to go buy more meat for today, since all we have are those leftovers from yesterday afternoon, and you need to finish those for breakfast anyway.”

…It appears that today’s schedule is being decided upon without me.
“—All right.
“Well, we need to go patrolling tonight at any rate, though. I won’t listen to any arguments about that.”
“And I won’t argue as long as your condition doesn’t deteriorate again.
“—I’ll go get water so that you can wash your face.”

And so.
Gulcasa nags me until I give in and eat the leftovers, and we go out as he has drawn up a new shopping list.
Today is still cold, but the temperature has risen since yesterday, and I don’t see my breath every single time I exhale.
Still, I wrap my body in my coat and stay close to Gulcasa as we cross the bridge.

The sunlight glitters on the water, and Gulcasa’s long hair streams around us, sent fluttering by the wind.
We don’t speak.
He holds my hand, a soft point of warmth and connection as we walk.
He’s probably concentrating on what kinds of food he wants to make for dinner more than where he’s actually going, and even I am wrapped up in my thoughts.
…It’s a completely relaxing everyday scene, the kind of peaceful happenings I’ve been earnestly seeking for most of my life.
I truly was foolish to have ever considered letting this go.

But.
This is only a temporary dream granted to me by the grace of the ritual called the Holy Grail War, nothing more.
It’s not permanent.
In order to keep this dream, in order to make it a reality—we must fight and win.

We arrive at the marketplace in the middle of the day.
And…
“—”
…There’s a familiar tall silhouette in the crowds.

“—Ah.
“It seems this place is getting to be a popular spot for loitering.”
“Hmm, well, all I really have to say about the situation is that I’m glad she’s not stuck with her Master during the daytime.”
Well, I’m joking around, but I agree with Gulcasa.
It’s a little bit pitiful that Avenger can’t think of anything better to do than to roam aimlessly around in the marketplace, but if she can relax here then that’s good.

…And.
“Well, it’s probably foolish and sentimental of me.
“—But even so, it’s a bit of a relief to know that the Servant who died last night wasn’t her.”
When I glance upwards to evaluate Gulcasa’s reaction, he’s smiling at me.
It’s also foolish and sentimental to think this, but even though knowledge of his character tells me that he wouldn’t mind my sympathies, I’m glad I’m not going to get scolded about it.

“Hey.”
Gulcasa calls out to her, and Avenger turns towards us as if it’s a surprise that we’ve arrived here, for all that she was probably able to sense us already.
“You sure have got a lot of free time.”
“I could say the same about you guys. You were just shopping yesterday, why are you here again today?”
“Well, we haven’t got anyplace cold enough to keep meat so that it won’t spoil, so there’s no choice but to buy fresh stuff every day. Going out of our way to keep things cold for a long time would be a waste of energy.
“—And what’s your excuse?”

Avenger glances away and then shifts her weight.
And.
She smiles at us with mischief in her face.

“—Well.
“Considering that I don’t have anything better to do anyway…
“…Maybe I was waiting around here, thinking that there was a chance that if I did, I might run into a certain stupid couple?”

Oh.
…I can feel my face starting to flush a little.
She’s being sincere.
Even I can understand that much, and that’s precisely why.
…I suppose you’d call it an affinity?
Anyway, she’s so much like Gulcasa and like myself that I can’t help but empathize a little, and she has that kind of personality, so I like her.
So of course it affects me when she says something like that so honestly.

“—Lucky guess.”
Beside me, Gulcasa is smiling.
“If you’re not actually here doing anything, then do you want to follow us around while we go buy meat?”

“—Heh, you’re saying that as if I have any plans.”
Avenger shrugs, and the movement sends a ripple down her long hair.
But even though she’s smirking, she falls into step with us as we make our way through the market crowds.

And so.
The three of us make our way through the market as Gulcasa goes from store to store looking at the selections of different types of meat.
“It’s a shame that there’s nothing I can really use to grill things, it would really be nice if we were able to get something like that done.
“Even a shield and a sword and a fire pit would do, but I think that in this era trying to buy things like that would be even more expensive than trying to get my hands on an actual grill.
“Which is too bad.”

“—It’s the return of the cooking otaku.
“Is he always like this?”
Avenger asks me and laughs.

“Well, his hobbies are cooking and worrying about everyone who’s in his care.
“Micromanagement might be a better way to put it. The stress of looking after things and making sure that everything under his jurisdiction is going well is a kind of stress that he thrives in.
“—Other kinds of stress are a different matter, but he has a special talent for making sense out of chaotic situations.”
You could call that another kind of paradox.
After all, Gulcasa is a demon, and so the kind of chaotic society where the strong eat the weak and must constantly fear for their safety should someone stronger than them come along would have been his, had his birth been a little bit different.
But instead, he was raised in human society, and the kind of upbringing he had gave him his distaste for injustice—so he went in the opposite direction entirely and determined on his own that the weak had to be protected by the strong at any and all costs.
And added to his natural charisma, he worked hard to become able to lead and take care of other people.
This also exposed him to all the stress of taking care of large groups of people, starting from when he was the de facto leader of a small but steadily expanding army.
By the time he became emperor, it wasn’t just a task that he was skilled at, it was one that he loved.
Taking care of all of his allies, looking over the reports from the entire country and making time to go check on the people in each city, making decisions about construction and taxes and public functions, switching over to battle plans, dividing up what wealth the country had for distribution amongst the needy—
And then falling into bed at a terrible hour, and then waking up at dawn to do the entire thing all over again the next day.
He would drive himself to exhaustion repeatedly and even make himself sick quite often, and everyone who loved him was constantly worried.
But at the same time, he was happy.
The people respected his instincts as a leader and his authority and power, and on top of that they all loved him on a personal level.
And when they were doing well, he was able to breathe.
So of course, carefully managing his work as a leader became one of Gulcasa’s skills.

…It always seemed like so much work that I was bewildered sometimes.
I’ve been told that I also seem to thrive in chaos, but even though this is a self-evaluation here, when I’m seriously working on things it never seems like chaos to me.
Whatever materials I’m using and my environment are always arranged such that I know exactly what to expect and exactly where everything is, and it bothers me when they get moved around without my knowledge.
I don’t like surprises, and what’s more, I wouldn’t be able to argue back very successfully if I were to be called fussy.
So there’s a significant difference between me—someone who has to have minute control over everything and fights against anomalous elements from outside until they’re how I want them—and Gulcasa, who adapts to unforeseen setbacks and changes very fluidly.
I suppose you could call it the difference in our initial environments, too.

“Well, anyway, it’s good that he has a hobby and I like to support him in it.
“Cooking relaxes him, and he’s very good at it. To confess my true feelings about it, I’m so spoiled for having had his food that I don’t think I could ever be enthusiastic about things that other people cook ever again.”
“…I see.”
Avenger laughs.
“You two are really well-suited for each other, aren’t you?”

She has positioned herself on my other side, so that she and Gulcasa are working together to shield me from the residual cold.
It’s not anything that they worked out aloud, she just started walking here naturally.

“If you don’t believe me, then you should try it yourself.
“—If there’s some means of making you dinner, you’ll see what I mean.”

Avenger’s footsteps ring out spiritedly on the sidewalk.
She’s in a good mood today.
“Heh, I’ll have to take you up on that someday.
“Don’t die until we can do that, okay?”

Her face is full of mischief, but her words are honest.
…I think by now I’ve grasped her character, so I can tell.
To put it simply, Avenger is fickle like a cat.
She is a self-concerned person who is kind to those she likes and hostile to those she hates, responds positively to kindness and negatively to cruelty.
She balks against the orders of her current Master because she is not given the amount of freedom that she would like, and is treated without regard to her own needs.
Avenger would do much better with a Master who would understand this and loosen the reins on her a bit.

And so, I smile.
“—Yes, that goes for you as well.
“And really, do try to find a somewhat more suitable magus while you’re at it.”

Avenger cackles.
“Yeah, that does sound more and more tempting every time you say it.”

…Today.
The shopping doesn’t take quite as long as it had yesterday, and so we part ways with Avenger not long after that.
Waving goodbye, we leave the marketplace, and despite her great height she melts into the crowd and disappears from sight.
After a while, I even stop being able to sense her.

Tonight’s dinner is again hearty and based on roasted meat.
Gulcasa doesn’t skimp on the different spices, which he says proudly is sure to bring out the taste of the chicken and beef.
He serves it with green and red pepper and even tomato cooked in the same spices, along with sticky white rice.
It’s warm, and the meat isn’t so tough that it’s a problem chewing it.
We clean the dishes together, standing side by side next to the old sink.

…And.
Now it’s time to take to the city streets again, and plunge back into the battleground of the Holy Grail War.

It is deep night.
When we cross the bridge again, the city of Miyama is asleep.
“—”
Gulcasa did not bother to change back into his civilian clothes, and is wearing his outfit from the time that he was alive without materializing his armor yet.
He stands tall and walks in a steady pace, with his breath hazing out in a white stream.
My own breath isn’t warm enough to be white in this half-baked night chill.

We don’t talk to each other and just walk around, our senses on full alert.
“—”
“—”
We weave down the streets like veins in a cadaver, and traverse the empty residential town, the result of the war five years ago.

“—Ah.”
And.
My shoulder, the brand of my Command Seals, suddenly burns.
There’s a strong sense of being close to “something”.
Like one of the strings that makes up the cat’s cradle of this war is tense and vibrating.

“—There’s something odd about this.”
I whisper that into the air, but Gulcasa just shakes his head.
“At this rate, they’ll definitely have sensed us too.
“It would be smarter to go get them, since otherwise they’ll probably just chase us and might wind up finding our home base.”

…Which is, of course, true.
“—Gulcasa, be on guard.”
He nods to me.
In the blue light of the night, his plum-stained long red hair ripples like waves in a field of wheat.

And so.
I put magical energy into my legs, and together we run.

We run into the great crossroads at the center of Miyama City.
And standing there—,

“Oh.”
Are two vaguely familiar silhouettes.
Small girls with their bodies swathed in white and blue.
…I’ve seen those two before.

“—His dolls, I see.”
I was correct to suspect that at least one more Master would be one of that man’s pawns.
But…,
…flanking both of the girls is a tall female knight in armor.

They are both overwhelmingly similar in stature, and even their armor is constructed in the same style.
Beside the girl with bright pink hair stands a woman whose armor is decorated in blue flowers, and beside the girl with red hair is a woman with long black tresses.

…Hm.
Hmmm.
…I see.
I understand now.

“—As expected of that man.
“Well, he’s nothing if he isn’t shrewd.
“But… it was Hisa-san and Nana-san, was it not…? Cheating isn’t a good way to accomplish your goals in a contest like this one, you know.”

“Oh, it’s Aries-onii-chan.”
The girl with pink hair cups her face in one hand.
“Nana-chan and I aren’t cheating.
“The Grail chose us both as one, so it’s not cheating, right?
“We’re winning this war for our master, that’s what we’re here for, and he told us to get rid of you if we saw you.
“—You shouldn’t have run away.”

“Primea.”
Nana is cowering behind her sister and her Servant.
Her temperament isn’t suited for battle, and so surely these two were only deployed for their compatibility with each other.
…Honestly, how crude.
That man has always been rather careless and arrogant in his deployment of others as pawns.

“…Nessiah.”
Gulcasa, standing beside me, looks between me and the enemy as though he is having trouble reading the situation.

“—It’s rather simple, Berserker.
“Those two girls have twinned Magic Crests. It’s a copy of another magic family’s sorcery trait of ‘ore scales’, if I’m not mistaken.
“And because of that, they’ve been dispatched as Masters in order to summon two Servants from the same class.
“It’s bending the rules considerably, but I believe it’s been done at least once before.”

“Hey, hey, Onii-chan, stop ignoring us already!”
Hisa is sulking.

“—Oh my.
“First of all, my duties as a Master demand that I need to explain this situation so that my Servant can understand it.
“And second of all, I don’t want to give any more attention than necessary to rude children who call me that.”
Listening to her call me the name I discarded in such a voice…, makes my veins tighten and my heart race with the need for violence.
Ahhh, if she calls me that again I don’t think I’ll be able to restrain myself from smashing her head in.

…She continues to sulk.
“But you called me Hisa, so it’s only fair, right—?
“Call me Primea, you dumb meanie. Nine’s not a cute lucky number like seven, it’s bad luck, so I have a rule to kill anybody that calls me that, see?”

“Similarly enough, my own creeds determine that I must kill anyone who calls me that.
“—That person was killed a very long time ago.
“I was born through that death. I would prefer you to call me Nessiah, young lady.”

Hisa—Primea pouts.
“Okay, you dumb meanie Onii-chan.
“Are you going to keep ignoring us or are you going to fight us?”

I look from Gulcasa to their Servants.
…I think that there’s enough difference in ability that even outnumbered, he’ll be able to fight on even terms.
“…You don’t need to hold back.
“In fact, you should go all out, and strike them down as fast as you can so that they’ll learn better than to muddy up formal rituals by cheating.
“I’ll handle both the Masters by myself, so don’t worry about me.”

“—”
Gulcasa doesn’t question.
He straightens up, and with a pale shimmer like embers in the night, he is encased in his armor. He holds his Noble Phantasm lightly in his hands.

“Tch.
“—Fine, go get this jerk, Rider!”
Primea yells in a petulant voice.

The Servant at her side launches forward, and after a brief pause, the other female knight receives a nod from her Master and charges as well.
Gulcasa pushes off the pavement with such force that it cracks slightly, exploding to collide with the armored shadows that rush to meet him.
With the great power of fireworks being launched.
He lets out a great shout and spins, flames flying off of his scythe to clash with his enemies.

“Now.
“Primea-san, if you would like to do battle then let us.
“Your sister can join you or stay behind as she pleases.”
“It’s ‘cause you’re like this that you’re in so much trouble with our master, you know.”
Primea is still sulking, but she begins to walk forward even so, her hands out.
…I know what to expect.
These girls are “imitations” with highly specialized abilities, and so they are capable of one thing only with a few offshoot abilities as byproducts of that one thing.

And so I begin to prepare my own spell.
As long as I strike them down first, there is nothing for the “original” to worry about against “imperfect copies”—as callous as that might seem.

“—Hey, hey, what’s this?
“It looks like there’s something interesting going on.”

And.
From high up atop a lamppost comes a familiar voice.

…I don’t know when she materialized herself there, but Avenger is standing and looking down upon the battle with an intrigued expression.
“Since I’m free and everything tonight, even if it’s a boring match against boring opponents, I think I’ll join in. Consider it a favor.
“—Heads up, Berserker!”

She jumps down.
Like a cat, entirely fickle and on a whim, throwing herself into battle on our side.

“—Hey, how could you call us cheaters if you’re gonna go pull another Servant in out of nowhere?!”
The small girl who was advancing towards me is angry.
…Well, there’s really no wonder there.

“It appears that you’re misunderstanding something.
“—Primea-san.
“Avenger isn’t my Servant. She has graciously arrived on her own, not acting on anyone’s orders, all based on her own free will.
“Servants aren’t convenient tools, after all.
“Avenger makes choices for herself.”

“—I know that.
“You don’t have to lecture me on Servants being people, Onii-chan.”
Maybe because she’s still angry, she stamps her foot a little bit.
“And that’s why your Berserker and even this dumb Avenger are gonna lose.
“—Because my Rider and Nana-chan’s Rider are the best and the strongest team.”

…Well.
It’s an admirable sentiment, at least.
And if she has no need for that kind of lecture, then I have nothing else to say to her.

I gather up magical energy to the beat of the sounds of steel coming from the four Servants sparring with each other, and—

—The night is split with a sudden scream.

“—”
Immediately.
Everyone stops.
Gulcasa, Avenger, and the two female knights called Rider.
The two doll girls.
Me.

…All of us turn in the direction of the bridge, which is where the screaming voice came from.
It sounded like a young girl.

“—We have to go.”
I say so in a loud and authoritative voice, calling for an end to the battle.
It is more important to find out what just happened.

“—”
When I pass by the group of Servants, Gulcasa immediately turns and falls into step beside me, with Avenger a pace behind him.

“—H-hey!”
At the startled voice Primea lets out, I stop and look back.
The two girls look mystified.

“You may either come along so that we might decide what to do later on, or you may go back home now.
“—But it’s clear that something is amiss, and it is more intelligent to investigate what has happened than to wait for whatever it is to interrupt our battle.”

There is no reply, but after I have resumed walking…
…The physical presence of both Riders vanishes, and I can hear the running footsteps of the two girls.

The situation becomes clear when we arrive at the park close to the bridge.
The area is terribly scorched with the aftereffects of magecraft, and although the combatants are nowhere to be seen—

There’s a girl.
She seems to be about the age of these two cheaters, perhaps a little younger than them.
Her body lies collapsed amongst the wreckage, but her chest is clearly moving, and so she appears to be alive.

“—She still has an intact Command Spell.”
But in this condition and with this result, it’s impossible to think that her Servant is alive.
…As to why the enemy Servant and Master didn’t kill her, although there are plenty of possible speculations, it’s useless to think at a time like this.
The facts stand that the enemy is gone, as even I cannot sense them, that her Servant appears to be dead, and that she herself is still alive.

“—”
Her body is small enough that I might be able to carry her, but not for any type of long distance.
So.
I turn to Gulcasa.
“Will you carry her?”
…My Servant is looking at me perplexed, with Avenger and the two Riders’ Masters loitering about in the backdrop.

“—Nessiah, what are you planning?”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?
“She’s lost her Servant, but she’s alive and still has Command Seals remaining.
“She’ll be targeted by foolish other Masters if left alone, so we have to take her out of Fuyuki and into the neighboring town in order to treat her.
“This girl will likely spend the rest of the war hospitalized; she isn’t a threat.”

“We can’t do that.”
Primea speaks in a toneless voice, a frown upon her small face.
“Duh she’s gonna get targeted again, she can still make a contract with another Servant.”

“…I see. Then, let me ask you.
“If Rider were defeated, and you were left behind, then would you want to make a contract with some other Servant as a replacement?”

Her reaction is immediate.
“—Of course not!
“My only Servant is Rider.”

…Her insistence makes me smile.
“—Well then.
“I don’t think that a girl who fought this hard for her Servant and who made a noise like that at losing it would want to partner up with another unknown Servant, do you?”

“Oh.”
Primea stops to think about it.
“I guess not.”

“All right?
“—Now, I’m not interested in fighting past this point.
“If you’d like to attack me I’ll certainly fight back, but I would really rather go ahead and take this former Master to a hospital.
“So I will fight you without any mercy at all.
“Do you understand?”

“—Primea.”
The other girl, Nana, speaks up.
“I think we should go home.”

“…Hmm, okay.
“Just for today though, you know? Next time, we’re actually gonna get to fight you and beat you, so we’re just being nice this once.”

And the two young girls disappear into the night.
…I let out a breath and return my attention to the unconscious Master.
I don’t know which Servant she had partnered, but it is definitely gone from this world by now, and so I should count my blessings that they chose to retreat.

“—We should hurry if we want to get to do this quickly.
“Avenger, if you would like to escort us then I will not stop you.
“But haste is important now.”
“Right.”
Gulcasa doesn’t question my words, and hoists the small girl up over his shoulder, his armor melting away from his body.
He holds out an arm to me.
…Good.
I wouldn’t be able to keep up with him if we really were to sprint to the next town like this.

…I mold myself lightly against Gulcasa’s body, and he supports me in the crook of his arm.
I close my eyes.
This will only take perhaps an hour.
…If I’m right, then hopefully the time in transit will be faster than it takes for the effects of the second casualty to take hold—

[Fate/ninth heaven] Vagrant Grail Cadenza; superscription [route III, day 5]

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