"Hohenheim-kun. Could you please wash the dishes? I need to go out shopping."
"Understood. I'll start right away."
When Ruler brought the homunculus to the church, even Alma was surprised. However, upon hearing that he had no one to rely on, was sickly, and in trouble, she allowed him to stay for a while.
At that time, he gave his name as Hohenheim.
It didn't have any particular meaning, but Hohenheim is the name of one of the world's greatest alchemists. Although the alchemy that formed his body was the Einzbern style, which had been secluded from the outside world for a thousand years, and thus not descended from Hohenheim's lineage, it still felt strange to end up bearing the name of a great alchemist.
Having only just recently been considered unworthy of being called a lifeform, having a name of his own felt fresh.
Hohenheim lived and slept at the church with Ruler, providing labor to Alma in exchange for lodging.
"Homu-kun. You mustn't overdo it. Even though that dagger allows you to be as active as an ordinary person in terms of stamina and strength, it doesn't make your body itself any sturdier."
"Yeah, I know."
The fragile body of a homunculus originally shouldn't withstand even slight physical labor. His muscular strength is much weaker than his apparent age, to the point where his usefulness as labor is questionable. But the healing dagger's effects somehow manage to compensate for that.
By having his injured muscles repaired each time, his strength is actually increasing rapidly. On top of that, his innate first-rate Magic Circuits can be used, if not perfectly. Until now, his body couldn't keep up with using magecraft, but the healing magecraft effect of the dagger seems to extend to all physical damage, and it also works on the self-injury caused by magecraft.
"My body's structure is basically the same as a human's. If I stay active like this, I'll naturally build up stamina."
"Is that so? That's good."
Even so, his lifespan is something he can do little about.
He is an artificial lifeform, and he himself, being an excellent alchemist, understands this. Even if physical damage is suppressed by healing magecraft, it can only extend his life slightly. Three to five years is the limit. Ten years is not something to hope for.
The dishes Hohenheim washes are for three people. It doesn't take even ten minutes to finish. Until Alma returns, with nothing else to help with, Hohenheim spends his time idle.
"Homu-kun. What will you do from now on?"
Suddenly, Ruler asked him.
"Until now, I didn't ask because you had just escaped from there, but now that you are free, how do you plan to live your life from now on?"
"How to live, huh..."
Hohenheim looked down while thinking. Then, he shook his head.
"No, I can't imagine it at all. It's strange. When I was in the fortress, I thought so strongly that I didn't want to die, that I wanted to live, but now that I'm actually in this environment, I suddenly don't know how to live."
"That is also a kind of discovery. There are things you don't understand until you plunge into that environment. Until now, your only goal was 'to live.' So to speak, that was your objective. But now, you have achieved that goal. From now on, I think you need to set a new goal: 'how to live.'"
"A goal for living..."
"In other words, a dream. Something you want to do, anything is fine. It can start from something close to you."
"I see. I have to decide everything for myself, then. Freedom is quite a restrictive thing, isn't it?"
Hohenheim's face as he said this showed no particular sign of feeling restricted. He just seemed to be troubled, thinking about the future.
"It's difficult. Is this the so-called 'punishment of freedom'?"
"Punishment of freedom?"
Ruler tilted her head, hearing an unfamiliar phrase.
"It's a saying by a thinker named Sartre."
Mere freedom lacks direction, and because you have to decide your own path, it involves pain. Freedom sounds good when you say it, but actually being in that state is quite challenging in its own way.
"It's my life, so I have to decide it with my own responsibility, huh?"
"That's right. But, you don't need to worry that much about it. Homu-kun, you've just been born, so it's okay to rely on adults you can trust more. It's a difficult problem, so you don't need to force yourself to solve it alone."
Saying that, Ruler puffed out her chest and pointed a thumb at herself.
"I see. Then I'll consult with Lady Alma later."
"Oh dear?"
Ruler, who prided herself as the big sister figure, was a little depressed at being passed over.
____________________________________________________________________________
In the two skirmishes so far, Caules hadn't accomplished a single thing.
Caules was fully aware that he only had specs that fell short of first-rate, and he correctly recognized himself as a mage with only enough skill that he normally shouldn't have been chosen to bear Command Spells. In such a situation, the main reason he chose Berserker, who consumes twice the normal amount of magical energy, was that he had no other options.
He had given up on the idea of being able to handle a first-class Servant from the start. Even a low-class Servant could be compensated for by raising its parameters through Mad Enhancement. For Caules, there was no choice other than Berserker anyway.
If this were a normal Holy Grail War, Caules would have been the first to drop out.
However, this Great Holy Grail War was different.
First, he had powerful allies. Additionally, the Berserker he summoned, Frankenstein, while having low parameters, was notable for the nature of her Noble Phantasm.
'Bridal Chest of a Maiden' has no offensive capability, but it has the ability to absorb excess magical energy from the atmosphere and reuse it. This effectively reduced Berserker's magical energy consumption to zero. By using homunculi as sacrifices to obtain the magical energy for activating her Noble Phantasm, all Caules actually had to do as a Master was simply stay alive.
Of course, if Caules were to die, the anchor keeping Berserker in this world would disappear, and even she, who can obtain magical energy without limit, would vanish.
Caules had no combat experience, nor was he particularly quick-witted. A Berserker without reason becomes merely a weapon for slaughtering enemies on the battlefield, so giving orders itself isn't very meaningful.
Lately, he'd been honestly thinking that he probably wasn't needed.
Hearing the familiar sound of a wheelchair, Caules raised his downcast eyes.
"Sis?"
It was Fiore and Archer.
Seeing Fiore's attire, Caules's expression changed.
There was no problem with having a Servant push her wheelchair. Archer was an excellent Servant, albeit of unknown identity, but for such a person to be acting like a butler was something Caules found hard to believe. However, he thought the relationship between Fiore and Archer was closer to that of friends than merely master and servant. They probably had the best relationship within this camp. In that case, Archer taking care of Fiore wasn't wrong in itself.
What Caules noticed keenly here was the suitcase resting on Fiore's lap.
"Where are you going with something that dangerous?"
Fiore's suitcase contained her personal Mystic Codes. They were her trump card, capable of easily killing even first-rate mages. Bringing that out meant that some unfavorable situation was developing, and she was compelled to deal with it.
As expected, Fiore nodded.
"I'm going to make contact with Assassin and their Master now."
"Contact? That seems dangerous for just contact."
The Assassin Fiore mentioned was the Servant who hadn't joined them until now. Thinking normally, they should be on our side, so going out to meet them armed like this felt strange.
Fiore sighed at Caules.
"Caules. The computer is fine, but you should read the local newspaper properly too."
"Yeah, yeah, I get it."
As Caules gave a perfunctory reply, Fiore's eyebrows started to rise.
"Fiore is right, Caules. Especially since they say the decline in young people reading printed text is severe these days. I hear they even use newspapers in education; reading them isn't a bad thing."
"Seriously, what era are you from?" Caules retorted to Archer's words. After the computer, now it's the newspaper? This Archer is too assimilated into modern times.
Watching this exchange, Fiore couldn't help but chuckle.
"What's so funny, Sis?"
"Sorry, I just..."
Without answering the puzzled Caules, Archer began pushing Fiore's wheelchair. He was implicitly saying the discussion was over.
"Well then, Caules. Please look after the place while I'm gone."
Finally, saying that, Fiore left with Archer.
Right after seeing off his sister and her Servant, Berserker tugged on Caules's clothes.
"What is it? Are you angry or something?"
Berserker growled and nodded.
Caules tilted his head. Was there anything in that conversation for Berserker to get angry about? Even if he asked, there was no clear answer from her, as she had lost her language ability.
"Could it be... about Sis?"
"Vvu..."
It seemed so.
This Berserker, due to her low Mad Enhancement rank, had lost her language ability and couldn't handle higher-order thinking, but she didn't have the drawbacks of Berserkers from other Holy Grail Wars heard about in stories.
The possibility of rampage was low, and Caules never ran out of magical energy. She herself hadn't lost her emotions and maintained a childlike level of thought.
Even if they couldn't hold a conversation, they could communicate with Yes and No, so while inconvenient, it wasn't impossible.
By the time Caules returned to his room, he could somewhat understand Berserker's intent.
Caules sat backwards on a chair, resting his chin on the backrest.
"In short, you don't like me getting along with Sis, who might become an enemy someday."
Berserker nodded affirmatively.
For now, they had a common enemy in "Red," but once they were defeated, a fierce internal struggle to monopolize the Holy Grail would begin.
"Even so, it's that Sis we're talking about..."
If Caules were to clash with Fiore, the chances of victory were practically zero. A sister who can take out first-rate mages and a brother who is a mage below first-rate level. There was no way he could fight her head-on.
"Besides, that Archer is too much of a mystery. Right?"
"Vuu..."
Berserker didn't care about Archer's True Name. She couldn't even handle the thought of devising countermeasures based on a True Name. But even so, her wild instinct, sharpened precisely because she lacked reason, sensed the danger of Archer's Noble Phantasm. A Servant who wielded countless Noble Phantasms. He was too dangerous to have as an enemy. Of course, the same was true when facing other Servants. In the end, Berserker would be at a disadvantage against any Servant.
"Anyway, nothing can start until we deal with 'Red.' Berserker. You, don't get close to that Lancer and Rider."
"Wii."
The "Red" Lancer and "Red" Rider, being top-tier Servants, were more than Berserker could handle. Especially Rider, whom only their own Archer could so much as scratch. Challenging such an opponent went beyond recklessness into mere foolhardiness.
Perhaps having learned her lesson from fighting "Red" Rider once, Berserker nodded readily to this.
"The newspaper, huh..."
After his conversation with Berserker settled down, his sister's words crossed his mind.
There was a newspaper in this room too. Caules picked it up and skimmed through it casually.
Then, folding the newspaper, he told Berserker:
"Berserker. I'm going to go help Sis a bit. You protect the fortress."
"?"
Without grasping his intent, Berserker nodded. Perhaps because she couldn't perform higher-order thinking, even if she had questions, she didn't seem to think deeply about them.
"It'll be fine. That Sis wouldn't fall behind so easily, and any proper mage would avoid a two-on-one situation."
He didn't think it was just wishful thinking.
It was a kind of rule of thumb in magecraft battles.
Caules had no direct combat ability, but he could use his own presence to pull off a bluff.
The newspaper article Caules saw.
It sensationally reported on a mass murder case shaking all of Romania.
____________________________________________________________________________
Shishigou and Saber had left Trifas, where they had been hiding, and arrived in Sighișoara.
Rather than sleeping in the catacombs, they had subtly occupied a hotel room that someone else was staying in. Sighișoara was a famous tourist destination, and even the small hotel beds were of decent quality. Saber, who had been living in the catacombs wrapped in a cheap sleeping bag, was naturally the first to happily occupy the bed and claim it as her own. Shishikou began to wonder if this was the same Mordred, but since she was only claiming ownership of one of the two beds, he agreed without complaining.
As a result, Shishigou was criticized for simply sitting down on Saber's bed, but since it wasn't anything particularly critical, he just nodded along and brushed it off.
It was the next day that the two of them started to act in earnest.
Shishigou had received instructions from the Mage's Association to investigate Sighisoara.
Apparently, they had lost contact with the support magicians dispatched by the Mage's Association. This support system was solid, having closely observed the deadly battle between Saber of "Black" and Lancer of "Red" and provided valuable information to Shishikou and his men.
Since they were being sent to the battlefield, they should have selected magicians with a certain level of ability. But now they had all stopped contacting them.
Suspecting something was wrong, the Mage's Association asked Shishikou to investigate, which is why they had traveled all the way to Sighisoara. However, they had already identified the culprit before arriving here.
"Assassin of "Black," huh? I wonder what kind of guy he is."
Shishigou muttered.
Currently, the only Servant Shishigou hadn't identified was the Assassin of "Black." The purpose of hunting magicians is likely to replenish their magical power. The hearts of all the bodies identified by Shishigou had been neatly removed. They ingest these hearts to make up for any missing magical power.
"Hah, whatever you call them, they're not legitimate Heroic Spirits."
Saber spat out in disgust, seemingly overwhelmed by the actions of the "Black" Assassins, between shock and anger.
Father Shirou had confirmed that all of the "Red" Servants were present and that no souls had been consumed. Everyone on the "Black" camp except for the Assassins was holed up within Millennia Fortress, so no matter what you thought, it was the "Black" Assassins who were committing the atrocities in Sighisoara.
"It's a bit concerning that he's doing something so conspicuous for an Assassin..."
"That just means he's a dumb assassin. Don't worry about it, Master. I'm not going to fall behind an assassin."
"Well, I suppose so."
It's not Saber who needs to be wary, it's Shishigou.
The Assassin class is considered a Master's natural enemy. They'll sneak up on you, hiding their presence, and decapitate you from behind. While their combat power is generally low, their characteristics make them no less troublesome. No matter how powerful a Servant, losing their Master means it's over. The Holy Grail War isn't about surviving alone. In fact, there's even a record of a Master summoning an Assassin and finishing a sub-Holy Grail War in three days.
Still, the reason Shishigou was parading around Sighisoara at night, exposing himself like this, was because he predicted that under the current circumstances, Assassins would almost certainly appear and target Shishiko.
"Are they really going to appear, Master?"
"Probably. With murders happening day and night, there's no street to walk around. All the magicians who can efficiently harness magical power have been wiped out. Assassins these days are starving for food."
"Ah, I see. So, to a starving Assassin, you look like a high-quality steak."
"What, you want to eat it?"
"What can you eat?"
"I'll consider it once I've captured Assassin."
"Seriously?!"
Saber's eyes lit up from behind her helmet.
Saber pointed her greatsword into the darkness and shouted.
"Come on, Assassin! Don't hide, come at me!"
Saber's loud voice echoed through the deserted alley.
Then, silence returned.
"..."
"What is it?"
"Well, I thought it was a good thing that you were feeling energetic."
"..."
Saber lowered her sword without saying anything. Perhaps she was embarrassed, realizing she'd gotten too cocky.
However, the next moment, Saber shook her armor and readied her sword.
"What's wrong?"
"Sorry, Master. Let me focus."
Saber's sixth sense was sounding the alarm.
Shishigou felt nothing. But Saber had the skill "Intuition." If she sensed danger, it meant that something was lurking. Shishigo also readied his shotgun and prepared to attack.
"There's fog coming in..."
Shishigou muttered.
The unobstructed, straight alley allowed them to see far into the distance. But now, a fog began to roll in, surrounding Shishigou and his friends.
The fog appeared so suddenly. It couldn't be a natural phenomenon.
"Saber. Don't inhale. It's poison!"
Shishigou was only able to notice this because, unlike Saber, who had high magical resistance, he was directly affected by the fog.
A burning pain ran through his throat and nostrils.
Shishigou protected his mouth and nose with a jacket made from the hide of a magical beast. He breathed through the jacket, and breathing became slightly easier.
"This is bad. Anyway, let's get out of this fog, Master."
Saber took Shishigou's hand and started running.
This fog was more like a Noble Phantasm than magic. It was undoubtedly an Assassin's ability. Assassin already possesses the skill to hide his presence, but now he has a Noble Phantasm that allows him to disappear. The world inside this fog is undoubtedly Assassin's territory.
Luckily, Saber's Intuition skill has reached a level where she can almost ignore the fog's effect on her vision. She instinctively knew how to run through the fog.
Perhaps thanks to running through the correct path as quickly as possible, the fog gradually cleared.
She had certainly made a successful escape. So, she had to prepare for what came next. Since this was an attack by a Servant, it couldn't end there.
"I've escaped, Master!"
At Saber's declaration, Shishigou took a deep breath and gasped. Breathing in fresh air, he cleared his mind. Just as relief was spreading through his chest, a well-aimed slash struck.
"Ah..."
With a high-pitched clang, the tip of the slashed knife fell to the ground.
When Shishigou turned around, a young girl was standing there.
Right behind him. If Saber hadn't swung her sword, Shishiko would undoubtedly have been killed.
This was the "Black" Assassin.
"I've been cut down. How cruel."
"Hmph, who cares about your own convenience?"
Saber readjusted her greatsword. Even if the opponent was a petite girl, she had no intention of going easy on him. The enemy before her was a filthy murderer with no sense of heroic pride, an enemy Servant. And more than anything, he had targeted her Master. So, now that he'd revealed himself, he was an enemy that had to be killed.
"---In any case, you're my dinner. A high-quality steak. Just leave your head here."
"Eh, you're saying something strange. Tonight's dinner was hamburgers made with your hearts."
Saber swiftly swung her arm. Without any preparatory movement, she deflected the knife thrown at her face with her gauntlet, and in the next movement she slashed at Assassin.
Assassin dodged it by jumping backwards.
His agility was quite high. But that was all. This Assassin's direct combat ability was inferior to Saber's. So if she attacked, she would definitely win.
Convinced of this, Saber pointed the tip of her greatsword at the Assassin before her.