The Emiya Residence.
- "So, it all starts tomorrow, huh?" I muttered thoughtfully with my eyes closed, lying on the veranda of the residence.
The rest of the day passed fairly quietly, and, surprisingly, without any fights between the Servants. Only Gil distinguished himself, but that had already become the norm for all of us.
It was late in the evening, and a bright moon hung high in the sky, its light illuminating the entire area around the house and the city.
A relaxing silence surrounded us, which only contributed to the smooth flow of thoughts. And this was necessary, because I still hadn't decided who would go with me to Olympus.
Medusa had categorically refused to visit the Greeks, which was completely understandable. After all, the worlds were different, as were the gods and the myths and legends associated with them. And so there was no need for her to be there, nor was there any need to force her to do something she didn't want to do.
Hercules had been thinking about Olympus for quite some time, so he agreed fairly quickly, even if he hesitated for a couple of minutes. Now he had to think about who to take with him, not only to pacify the Olympians, but also to have a little fun at their expense.
Gil and Enkidu were ruled out almost immediately, because their course of action was very obvious — first humiliate with words, then with force. As for me, that didn't work. Too boring. Someone from the legend of King Arthur is also out of the question. They would be more likely to like them than the other way around. Merlin or Mo-chan, for example.
In the end, the choice is small, unless, of course, we summon a new Servant, and that's a headache. However, I owe to Ama-chan one Servant, so it's still worth thinking about.
Grandpa and Archer? That's not enough, I think.
Well, what about the information I got from Rizevim? For the most part, I heard what I already knew, but was there any tidbit of information that turned out to be interesting? Heh. Hades' wife is quite an unusual person, as is their life together. Heh-heh.
I took a deep breath, and at that moment, I noticed something. More precisely, someone.
- "Master," Grandpa appeared next to me, apparently to inform me of the visitor, but I decided to stop him.
- "I know. Let her come. I've been waiting for her for a long time," I waved him away and opened one eye. "Tomorrow, you and Emiya will come with me. What do you think about that?"
- "We are Servants," Grandpa replied briefly.
- "I don't mean that. What do you think about gods, apart from the fact that they can be pagan and all that?" I repeated the question, because I was genuinely curious. He paused for a moment, clearly thinking, then looked away at the landscape.
- "It's... complicated."
- "Hm?" My eyes immediately widened and looked like basketballs.
- "How so? How is it complicated for YOU?"
- "Allah is great," he said and looked up at the night sky. "He respected other beliefs because they gave people hope, faith in something higher, something greater. They showed the way and gave meaning to life to those who needed it."
- "And?"
- "And I, as a faithful servant of Him and His ways, have no right to kill gods. I have no right to judge them — only to respect them, as He does. The evening bell rings only the names of mortals, and I follow it."
I raised an eyebrow and thought about it.
It was true. Come to think of it, Grandpa had only weakened Tia during the Grand Order, and Gil, Ereshkigal, and Merlin had done the rest. And the case with Tia could be considered an exception to the rule, since she was a Beast, albeit a goddess. And then...
- "Then why did you say 'difficult'?"
- "Because of you."
- "Me?"
- "You're a special case. A master who wears ten of His rings. Who received His blessing. Who took His place. Who received divinity like Him. You're an anomaly. Strong. Powerful. Eccentric. But you proudly call yourself human. That's why it's 'complicated' for me."
Well, there is some truth to that. After all, I am indeed a special case. And that's not even taking into account my "forgotten" past. I guess the odds are one in a million.
- "And the Evening Bell can ring my name, even though by all criteria I'm not really a human anymore, huh?" I smiled, and he gave me a short nod. "Well, that's how it turned out."
- "Yes."
- "Thanks for your answer, Grandpa. It was very interesting to hear something like that from you," I smiled. "Now you can go. I want to chat with our guest."
Grandpa nodded again and disappeared into the shadows, and I looked slightly away from the horizon, straight at one of the bushes a couple of hundred meters away.
- "They say black cats bring bad luck. Is that true, Kuroka?" I said into the void, and the bush stirred, and a few seconds later, a large black cat appeared from it, wearing a revealing kimono of the same color with scarlet trim and a golden obi.
- "So Arthur and Le Fay weren't lying about you, nyan. You really can find me even when I use senjutsu, nyan," she said with her cat ears raised, and came up to me. "And why couldn't I hear the conversation between you and that creepy skeleton? I couldn't even sense his presence!"
- "That's a good thing, because you wouldn't have had enough litter and catnip to calm yourself down," I shrugged.
- "Hey! I'm a neko, not a regular cat, nyan!" Kuroka protested, then smiled seductively and struck a pose. "But if you take me with you, reincarnation of Solomon, I'll be anything you want, nyan."
- "No way."
- "Huh?"
- "Tell me why you came, or I'll call Le Fei," I said, and in the next second, her two tails and ears stood on end, and animal fear appeared in her eyes.
Heh. I wonder what Le Fei did to achieve such a result?
- "O-okay..." Kuroka hesitated, then calmed down a little, approached with her ears down, knelt down, and bowed. It looked a little unusual, to say the least, but it had its own charm. "I need help. The few who were saved from the village destroyed by the Naberius... They can still be saved.
Huh?
- "You managed to heal Bael's mother, and if... If you can do the same for my mother and the other three..."
What?
- "I... I'll do anything. Please, help me..."
- "Stop! Stop! Stop! Wait a minute!" I interrupted her, causing her to look up at me in confusion, her eyes filling with tears. "Weren't you and Koneko the only ones who survived? Or am I confusing something?"
- "That's not exactly true," Kuroka explained. "Four were saved, but their bodies are badly damaged and are in stasis. Amaterasu-sama's people only managed to do that when they arrived in the village."
I rubbed my temples and thought for a moment.
Right. Another discrepancy with the canon. But why did it come up now? Although...
- "But if that's the case, why didn't Ama-chan, Nurarihyon, or Yasaka-san tell me anything about it?"
- "They were afraid of conflict with the demons. With you here, things could have gone very unpredictably."
- "And what has changed?"
- "You will become Yasaka-sama's husband, and you have also become the de facto head of the entire biblical faction. Amaterasu-sama wanted to raise this issue a little later, after the wedding, but I decided to do it earlier."
I thought about it.
Hmm... Helping isn't a problem, since the remaining neko-shou were, so to speak, Yasaka's people, and there was no need to ask for anything in return, but I feel like I'm missing something. What could it be?
- "I'll do it..."
- "Really?!" Kuroka interrupted me.
- "But not now," I finished, and she immediately lowered her gaze and ears. "It's too sudden a request. I need to figure things out a bit. I'll have time during my visit to Olympus."
- "Okay!" Kuroka exclaimed again, happily, and threw herself at me, pressing her whole body against me. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you..."
- "Yes, yes, now go away," I said, enduring her embrace for a moment before pushing her away. And also...
- "I'll be waiting impatiently for your return! And..."
- "Oh, yes. Stop by Kyoto and tell Ama-chan that she'll have a visitor soon."
- "Okay! See you soon!"
And with that, Kuroka skipped away, wagging her tails wildly. I grinned.
I also had a funny idea. Why not give to Ama-chan two servants instead of one? One who isn't particularly calm, but is quite affectionate and caring, and one who is much, much, MUCH louder? Like the shot of an old powder rifle, for example?
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