A few dozen minutes later.
The ground floor of the Fuyuki Grand Hotel.
Seeing Naoki descend the stairs with Morgan slung over his shoulder, Mordred immediately approached. After glancing at Morgan's condition, she couldn't help but grin. "Master… what did you do to the queen mother…"
Five years had passed, and Mordred already knew everything she needed to, especially since Aoko was usually around whenever she returned.
Catching the hint in Mordred's expression, Naoki irritably smacked the cheeky kid's head. "What are you thinking? Your mother just passed out. Hung on a ceiling fan at max speed for a dozen minutes—see if you wouldn't get dizzy. Plus, I whipped her a bit. Here, take your mother."
"Uwaaa!"
Catching her mother as Naoki tossed her over, Mordred suddenly felt an intense tension. Holding her mother like this was a first… What was this strange sense of mission?
"By the way, why's it just you here? Where's Tama?" Naoki glanced around. "Morgan mentioned being chased by you and Tama earlier—what happened?"
"Oh, that. It was actually Rei's arrangement."
Mordred explained the day's events.
When Morgan and Arthur arrived in Fuyuki, Rei tasked Atalanta and Mordred with monitoring them to confirm their presence. During the surveillance, Rei noticed something off about Naoki and Artoria's situation. Combined with the strange encounter with Aoko and Scathach, a worried Rei sent familiars to investigate.
The results were obvious. After confirming Naoki's condition was caused by Merry and Morgan, Rei began preparing to confront them both.
"Well, I didn't expect Master to show up. When we learned you were coming, Rei panicked and considered asking Gray to stop you, though she didn't go through with it."
Stopping Naoki would've been pointless. If he, who was with Aoko, came here, it meant Aoko didn't stop him either. Restraining him would've been futile, so they could only cooperate with his actions as best they could.
"After cat girl forced them out with her Noble Phantasm, she and I cornered Merry and the queen mother. Unfortunately, Merry escaped too quickly, so we could only hold back the queen mother, but she got away too."
Atalanta and Mordred together couldn't fully restrain Morgan.
When a Magus from the Age of Gods got serious about escaping, not everyone could stop them. Naoki managed to subdue Morgan because she misjudged his strength—a significant factor.
"By the way, cat girl just got called away by Rei for some business. She told me to wait for you here, and once you arrived, we'd head to our base together."
"Alright, but I need to find Lia first. I didn't tell her when I left, so we got separated. She's probably freaking out by now."
When leaving Aoko's place in a rush, with his mind solely on getting to the Fuyuki Grand Hotel, Naoki hadn't thought about Artoria or looked for her. Now, she was surely in a panic.
"Plus, I need to go back to Aoko's place once. I made a promise with Lancer I need to keep."
"No need."
Scathach's voice suddenly came from the entrance. Naoki and Mordred turned to see Aoko and Scathach walking toward them, accompanied by Artoria.
Seeing Naoki, Artoria immediately ran over. "Master! You're okay! You were so reckless! Your body was so weak, how could you—"
Artoria's words stopped mid-sentence as she sensed that Naoki's body was now far healthier than before, showing no signs of weakness.
"Master, you…"
"Completely shed your human body?" Scathach narrowed her eyes. Clearly, she had already noticed the change in Naoki.
Naoki smiled and nodded, explaining his situation to them and manifesting Excalibur. Seeing the Holy Sword in his hand, all four fell silent for a moment.
Half-Fairy and the Third Wielder of the Holy Sword of the Stars.
"Thanks to misfortune, you've reached heights never touched before?" Scathach said after a pause, unable to hold back a laugh. "And there's still room for further growth. I'm starting to get curious about what you'll be like when you fully become a fairy."
That might be an entity truly capable of bringing her death.
Initially, she only wanted to fulfill her final wish, which was why she gave Naoki the power to keep fighting. Unexpectedly, it led to his further evolution.
"If you want, I can fight you right now, Lancer. We agreed on it earlier." Naoki said with a smile.
Scathach raised an eyebrow, and two demonic spears appeared in her hands. But after a brief pause, she put them away. "No, let's skip it tonight. It's late, and you're not in peak condition. Besides, there are plenty of people watching."
No need to look—you could guess that with this much commotion, the Magecraft King and the Hero King were likely observing in secret. Plus, there was Rider, whose whereabouts were unknown after the first night…
If they fought to the death here and ended up being taken advantage of by others, it would be a huge loss.
"Besides, a delicious dish should be savored at its peak. Eating it prematurely and missing its full flavor would be a lifelong regret. Let's keep our promise until the end of this Holy Grail War. As for a true life-or-death battle…"
That could wait.
Seeing Scathach decline, Naoki smiled. Then, like a puppet with its strings cut, his entire body collapsed into Artoria's arms, startling her. "Master! Master? What's wrong?"
"It's fine. He's just exhausted and fell asleep." Aoko said, approaching to check Naoki's condition. "He must be completely worn out. Last night he fought the Hero King, today he was weakened all day by Merry and Morgan's scheme, and still dragged himself to fight here… Even if he's physically recovered, he's mentally drained. Let him sleep well."
Looking at Naoki sleeping soundly in Artoria's arms, Aoko patted the little guy's head.
"Good job, Naoki. Rest well."
"When you wake up, there's a reward waiting for you."
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Before the Third Day of the War Begins
Waking up to find Aoko lying beside him was nothing new for Naoki. Over four years in another world, whenever Aoko returned, it was basically like this every day.
Clothed or not, he'd seen it all.
Lifting the blanket and checking his body—his shirt and pants were still on, so he hadn't been "taken advantage of."
Scenes of Aoko sneaking into his room while he slept had happened once or twice before. Sometimes, Naoki admired how Aoko could actually pull off such bold ideas—she was unexpectedly daring.
This must be what they call a mature adult.
"Ugh…"
Aoko stirred, likely woken by Naoki lifting the blanket and getting up. She pouted reluctantly, sitting up on the bed like a cat just waking up, rubbing her eyes and yawning widely.
"Hoammm~ Morning… Naoki…"
"Morning, Aoko." Naoki said, helping her adjust the slipped strap of her pajamas and habitually tidying her long, messy hair—Aoko's sleep posture was terrible, her hair always a mess after sleeping.
But before Naoki could touch her, Aoko pressed his head, pushing him back onto the bed and immediately pinning him down. "Sleep a bit more… I'm sleepy…"
"It's 10 a.m., and you're still sleeping?"
"Last night, dragging a pig like you back, I didn't sleep until almost 3 a.m… So sleepy… And you caused me a huge headache, so you have to indulge me for a few days."
Like hugging a giant pillow, Aoko's long, smooth legs straddled Naoki, trapping him in her embrace.
Leaning against Aoko's chest, Naoki sighed slightly. "One hour, then I'll wake you up."
"Hmm… And don't breathe into my shirt."
"Then I'll turn the other way. Stop choking my neck with your arms."
"Huuuuh~"
Feeling the warm breath on the back of his neck, Naoki grasped her dangling hand. Though unspoken, his condition yesterday must have worried Aoko. She always hated seeing him bear everything alone. Making her worry this much, he indeed owed her proper compensation.
[Your compensation is being a cuddle pillow in bed?]
Manaka's slightly displeased voice sounded in his mind.
[After this, are you planning to strip her clothes off and get physical?]
(What do you take me for?)
[A charm-spreading vixen who claims loyalty but is utterly common.]
What a long title.
(I won't deny the charm-spreading part. After getting involved with Aoko back then, I did want both Aoko and Merry. But I'm not that common, am I?)
[Hmph. Completely clueless. Whatever, that's not what I wanted to talk about. That prince…]
She wanted to talk about Arthur.
Right, there was no longer any of Arthur's power in Naoki's body. Arthur himself had returned to Avalon and fallen asleep. Unless something unexpected happened, he likely wouldn't awaken again. This also meant Manaka would probably never see him again.
(Arthur's sleeping soundly. Don't tell me you're going to drag him out of Avalon.)
[I wouldn't do that, and I have no reason to now. I saw everything last night…]
Though Merry's seal prevented her from interacting with the outside world, Manaka had witnessed it all. And after seeing her beloved prince's end, strangely, she didn't feel much sadness.
No, that wasn't quite right. There was definitely loss, but if it were the old her—say, ten years ago, or seven or eight years ago—she wouldn't have accepted it. She would've done anything to keep Arthur from leaving forever.
But last night, she had no such thoughts. Beyond a slight sense of loss, there was nothing else.
[Vixen… If something you've pursued for so long suddenly ends, what would you do next?]
(That's a sudden question to ask me…)
Because of Arthur's departure, Manaka was momentarily at a loss?
Naoki moved his arms and legs to avoid numbness from Aoko's weight.
(For me, I'd probably find a new goal. For example… I want to marry Merry now. After that's done, I'll think about how to live with her in the future, and I'll also consider kids—no, thinking about kids before Gray's independent is too soon…)
[A new goal?]
In the pitch-black soul space, Manaka slightly clenched her fist.
[Sometimes you say useful things, vixen.]
(Skip the 'sometimes.' If you keep talking to me seriously like this, I can keep being serious with you.)
[Then can you release me?]
(Not up for discussion. I'm sleeping with Aoko.)
[…]
Seeing Naoki instantly "mute the mic" and turn to cuddle Aoko for sleep, Manaka gritted her teeth in slight anger. Then she closed her eyes, sinking her consciousness and connecting with someone elsewhere.
[Can you hear me? My other self, Rei, I have something to discuss.]
◆━⊰✧⊱━◆
Miyama District, Mordred and the others' base.
Rei, preparing to deal with Majin Souji, couldn't help but be slightly surprised by the sudden consciousness synchronization.
"Strange, we haven't had communication like this in four years. What's the big deal this time, Manaka?"
[There's something. I need your help, and it's about that vixen.]
About her Master?
Rei frowned. "What are you planning to do to Master now? Let's be clear, I'm not in a good mood. If you have bad intentions toward him…"
[This time, I'm not planning anything against him. If anything, it's more like I'm doing something to myself.]
"To yourself?"
[It's fine if it's after the Holy Grail War ends. I need you to help me…]
Listening to the information from her other self, Rei's dissatisfaction gradually turned into a smile, like a mother watching her child grow up.
"I see… In that case, no problem. Leave it to me. But I'll explain just enough to Master, alright?"
[Good, thank you.]
"No trouble. If it goes smoothly, I'll benefit too, and Master will get all the benefits. I have no reason to refuse a win-win-win proposal—but why ask me? Something like this should be more suited for Merry.]
[That dream demon is currently hanging and drying out with Morgan.]