It was early in the morning, I woke up after making the strange dream once again. But this time at least I wasn't sweating from all over.
"Good morning, mongrel." The first thing that greeted me was Gilgamesh who was lazily sprawled on his side of the bed.
"Good morning." I returned his greeting back and got up from the bed.
In the end yesterday after he scolded me for wearing the wristbands while playing we played another few rounds but without them. We also went sightseeing a few places by traveling with his Supra, by late evening we came back but not before he made me run some more with Bullworker on, then we took turns to shower and then we went to eat dinner together.
Today Gilgamesh decided I would be going to school so…
…I will be going to school.
But there was one little problem.
"What clothes should I use?" I directed my question to Gilgamesh.
Who just looked at me with a confused expression and asked back pointing to a stack of clothes that were my size on the table inside the room. "What do you mean? Just wear something from that pile?"
"I see, I just asked because I didn't see any school uniforms there." There was a great variety of many different outfits but none that resembled my school uniform.
"You need a uniform to go to school? Nevermind them then. Were the clothes you wore when you jumped from that building the uniform you meant?" He sighed before asking me the question.
"Yes, that was my school uniform but it's all torn up now."
"Then I will just make a new one." From thin air he opened his treasury once again and a wooden machinery with many silk like treads attached to it came out. It quickly started moving by itself and in less than three minutes sewed a brand new school uniform.
The uniform of my school was composed of a plain white buttoned shirt, black trousers and yellow buttoned black jacket with the topmost plastic button having the school insignia.
'How did the sewing machine replicate the button?' I was surprised more by that than the fact that the machine came out of a glowing golden portal or that it moved by itself to be honest. I mean it only had fabrics, how did it make a plastic button from them?
"Here, this should be good enough, you can change into your uniform after breakfast." The machine even folded the clothes before he picked them up to offer them to me
"Ok" I took them and put them on the table with the rest of the clothes.
We could have gone downstairs to have breakfast but he seemed insistent on eating the food from his treasury.
CRACK CRACK
I tilted my head as I looked at Gilgamesh who started to crack his neck and knuckles. "Now prepare yourself mongrel. This time I'll make sure you will be begging for more food after finishing this breakfast."
I still didn't understand these comments about the food he made. After eating his meals my belly's usually very full so why would I be asking for more?
SMACK
My train of thoughts was interrupted when Gilgamesh chopped me in the head with his head.
"I can see what you are thinking from your stupid mug, brat." He spat out with a scowl on his face as he clicked his tongue. "Now stop thinking for a second and just eat. You are not good at thinking anyway so it shouldn't even be a problem for you."
…He has a point.
I sat on the chair as various plates made their way to the table by floating in the air.
I felt like the quantity of food increased from yesterday but he told me to stop thinking during breakfast so I didn't question it.
Instead I picked up the first plate right before my eyes. It was filled with meat that resembled bacon and some scrambled eggs, but the color of the meat was a bit exotic, the eggs were just really big.
After finishing that I picked up the second plate, this time filled with slices of bread with jams and seedless pieces of watermelon cut in cubes.
"Hey, don't just eat, you should also drink something to digest well." As I finished the second plate Gilgamesh passed me a glass filled with milk.
I drank from it before passing to the next plate and then another…and then another….and then…Eh!?
'Where did the food on the plates go?' I snapped out of my daze and looked around at the plates on the table, all now completely empty.
'How strange I'm sure I didn't even eat that much…or did I?' Looking to my side I could see Gilgamesh with a grin that stretched his face but how wide he was smiling.
'...maybe he also ate breakfast while I was eating…yes that must be it.' It must have been like that, the reason why I didn't see him must be because he could move much faster than what I could process and that I was distracted.
I only ate from a few plates after all.
For some reason Gilgamesh hummed a laugh under his massive grin as he rested his hand on his fist.
"Want seconds?" He asked with a voice that sounded a lot like he was "gloating" me.
"...No, I'm full, thanks."
***
After breakfast I got dressed in the newly made uniform, it was incredibly more comfortable than the previous one.
And yet despite that they felt like they wouldn't tear even if I used a scissor to try and cut it up. I think he called the things from his treasury Noble Phantasms and they are really hard to understand.
On our way to the exit of the hotel we spotted the same worker as yesterday who was standing by the door somewhat dozing off.
"CHATCH!" Without wasting a second after seeing him Gilgamesh threw his car keys with the same speed as a baseball thrown by a professional pro player.
"Eh!? Haaaiii!" Screeching from what I believed must have been "surprise", he turned our direction while straightening his back.
PACK
He still had no problem catching the keys despite the little window of time he had to accomplish it by raising his left hand in a quick motion. He moved his hand almost like it was a reflex he trained for all his life.
"Atc acth acth, that hurt…" He quickly passed the keys to the other hand and waved his right hand in the air from the pain of catching the fast throw with his bare hands though.
"Nice catch, now could you bring me my car?" Gilgamesh whistled at the sight before addressing the young man.
"Y-Yes, sir! I-Immediately." Running away in a sprint the hotel worker went to fetch the car.
When he was no more in sight Gilgamesh released a curious hum while rubbing his chin. "I didn't think he would have caught that either, how competent. Maybe I should actually throw a slightly faster one next time."
I had to admit that that catch was extraordinary. I certainly wouldn't have been able to catch it, not that I'm any skilled at catching high speed flying objects like balls and etc.
The worker came back with the car and handed the keys back to Gilgamesh respectfully while offering a bow and I believe he shoulder must have felt cold because they were somewhat trembling. Finishing his ponderings Gilgamesh took the keys and turned his face to look at me as we boarded the car. "So, anything else you need for school?"
Anything else I needed?
Well, now that he mentioned it.
"I need to grab my books."
"Don't you have them in that bag already?" He tilted his head while looking at the bag holding the books I had with me when I jumped.
"Monday has different subjects than Friday."
"Tch. Is that so? Then where are these books you need?" He clicked his tongue but still asked me where to go to pick them up.
"...In an orphanage."
Somehow, I felt like I was struggling a little to make those words come out of my mouth.
***
"Well, here we are brat. Also remember to put the scarf in your bag, you can put it back on after school ends." Gilgamesh parked the car not too far away from the orphanage. He looked around for a moment before directing his attention back at me.
"So? What are you waiting for? You don't have that much time to waste. Go grab your books, actually seeing as we aren't that far away from the school can you just walk there directly? I just found something I want to look at so I'd rather leave now."
"Yes, I can go by myself from here, it's not a problem." Saying so, I got out of the car and made my way to the orphanage as I put the black scarf around my neck inside my school bag after folding it. The supra sped by on the road as I reached the entrance gate.
I was in front of the entrance of the orphanage once again…just like usual.
I made my way through the hallways of the orphanage.
The other children were having breakfast in the dining hall, the only people around the hallways were a few janitor ladies gossiping about their daily argument.
I passed them by as they continued talking and didn't pay any attention to me.
My steps echoed as the only sound amidst the silence of the hallways as I walked them for the first time since a few days ago.
After a minute of walking I finally reached my room. It was just like how I left it before going to school on Friday. I put the bag down on the single chair inside the room near the small wooden table, I opened the zip and put the books for today's classes inside.
I didn't take any of the books I already had inside though so the bag looked more bulkier compared to normal. I picked it up and slung the strap over my shoulder, before going for the door to get out.
I reached for the handle holding it with my hand as I opened the door and took a step through it before looking back inside my room.
"..." I stared at the room I have been living in for as long as I could remember.
I somehow had the sensation that something was missing, not like a missing object inside or anything like that. The only time someone else even went inside for anything remotely similar was when they broke the mirror of the bathroom, but it wasn't anything like that now.
I… I just felt like I was the one forgetting to do something.
But I had no idea what that was.
In the end I just turned back and took another step outside before closing the door behind me. I couldn't lose time here and end up being late after all.
I walked through the hallways again but now from the opposite direction, this time it was crowded by the children who were previously having breakfast, all rushing past me as they made their way to their rooms preparing for school as well, some around my age, some a little older and some younger.
MURMUR MURMUR
"I don't want to go to school."
"Me too, it's so boring."
MURMUR MURMUR
"Wanna play soccer after school?"
"Mmmmm, ok but I'm picking the team this time."
"Fine, also did you hear about the new transfer…"
The conversations I overheard as they passed by like a storm and a tidal wave died down when I was out of the building.
I walked through the side walks surrounded by people. It was the road I always took to reach for my school. Both elementary and middle school weren't far from each other so I always took this road for both of them.
I continued walking steadily amidst the traffic of other students and adults going to work, I continued like that until I stopped at one familiar place.
'It's that building…' I looked upward in the direction of the rooftop of a certain building facing the large sidewalk I was standing on.
It was the same building that man had jumped from when he took his own life.
I looked at the rooftop for a while before changing the direction of my gaze to look at the ground in the point where he spluttered himself.
"..." I could still recall the look on that man's face when he jumped and I remembered how shocked all the people around were when he threw himself and died. However, now…
"...There's nothing." There wasn't even some tape left by the police and the blood on the ground wasn't even that well cleaned away. It looked like someone just spilled a canister of something on the ground and people just stepped on the leftovers of those dried stains of blood without hesitation.
'They had made such a big deal out of it…' I looked at the place where the man had landed for another instant before looking in the direction of the bench where the old man I talked to last time was seaing at.
He was still there just that now he sat at a different side of it, wearing different clothes and accompanied by a few other elderlies chatting with him animatedly, he was so sad and downthrotten back then but just three days after that and he was already so… so…
I turned away from them before resuming my journey to school.
'In the end…' I passed by many other pedestrians and thought back to that day, how much that unusual day went by in a way completely different than any other I ever had before. How the two days after that one also went in directions completely alien to me.
Seeing things that I was taught existed only in fiction.
Doing one of those things myself with a knife.
Meeting two strange people.
And yet today I'm back here, once again walking the same road with the same people as if nothing had ever happened.
As if everything was just like usual.
"...I really don't get it." Without even realising myself I muttered those words out loud.
***
I reached the entrance of my school. It was a middle school like many others with no special characteristic to it. It was an "#" shaped concrete block with a ground floor and and an additionaly first floor above it to fit more classrooms in.
Walking from the entrance to the stairs I went to my classroom on the first floor.
I opened the door and entered the class, some of my classmates were already there though not many of them. Among them a few gave me tired greetings which I returned back as I sat on my desk waiting for homeroom.
The class slowly started to be filled with the rest of the kids as they formed groups to talk for the last few seconds before the teacher arrived, even those who looked so tired before were somehow now full of energy chatting with their friends.
And before long the homeroom teacher entered the classroom.
"Alright guys go take your seats, I have an announcement for today…"
The students all got back to their seats as the teacher told us about an event after lunch break. We will prepare a group project with other classes inside the school gym.
The morning passed by in the usual way. First came two hours of math, followed by one of Japanese language, and then one of history. I paid attention in class like I always did but I found myself struggling to take notes during class and was somewhat lagging behind.
Before long, the bell rang, announcing the end of the history lesson and the beginning of lunch break.
I usually went to the school canteen as due to my living conditions I was allotted one free meal there. So I rose from my desk and made my way there. It was crowded like usual but I still managed to retrieve my daily meal and find a place to sit.
There was a lot of noise here and there as everyone talked in a loud voice while eating. Amidst those loud noises a voice called out to me.
"Sorry, do you mind if we sit here?"
It was a girl I didn't know together with a group of friends. The rest of the canteen was pretty full so there weren't many more tables with free seats like this one I guessed.
I just nodded back in agreement. I didn't really mind them after all.
"Thank you. Let's sit, guys."
As they sat down they quickly started conversing excitedly about this or that regarding their day.
I just continued eating while minding my own business.
Somehow the food was hard to swallow, definitely harder than usual at least.
And to top it all off, the image of the places I've seen on journey to the school refused to leave my mind, it was like they were stuck there and I didn't know why. Today I felt like I understood much less than I ever did in the rest of my entire life.
At least before, when the strange things started happening since that Friday afternoon… Someone was there to tell me what to do.
But now, I was here alone…
As I was pondering about the food of the canteen a familiar voice spoke inside of my head.
[Hey, brat.] I heard Gilgamesh's voice inside of my head, he called it a telepathic link from our contract if I remembered correctly.
[Yes?] I immediately answered him back by speaking inside my head like he taught me in the previous days.
[You see, I was getting bored watching around. So I was wondering if you could do me one favor to help me make it more… let's say interesting?] He asked in his usual tone.
"Oh, by the way, thanks for letting us sit here my name is…" I could hear the girl sitting right next to me talking to me but I ignored her as I wasn't really interested in hearing her out and I was waiting for Gilgamesh to finish speaking.
[So, can you help me or not?] Gilgamesh asked again in what I believed should have been a somewhat "expecting" tone.
[...What should I do?] I asked back unsure of what he meant but I was ready to oblige.
[Good. Do you see that girl speaking to you?] Gilgamesh hummed in response.
Following his instruction I turned to the girl who was still speaking to me.
"...By the way, what's your name?" Apparently she finally finished her rant and she just asked me for my name.
[Yes, I can se–] I was about to answer him but he interrupted me.
[I order you to slit her throat.]
***
Kirei would be proud of gil for the callout.
From this chapter forward we could call this the beginning of the story part where we concentrate on the boy in a sense.
Until now everyone else (even those u have yet to see) had a role of their own. In a holy grail war where we don't fill in the roaster with unaware partecipant (for the seven classes ofc) everyona has their role and reason to figth...other then the boy I guess but he is not the master of one of the seven classes normally summoned at least.
So from this chapter forward let's try and figure things out slowly, ok?
What? It's a bit late to start such a thing after 26 chapters? Just take the previous 26 chapters as a prologue then.
Pls leave some comments and rievews, and maybe some power stones as well. Your credit card credentials are also appreciated.
See ya next week.