"Ooh, despite such a small frame, you possess such robust strength! Pleased to meet you, my compatriot! I am Spartacus! Let us protect the weak from oppressors together!"
"Yes, pleased to meet you. I am Fergus mac Róich."
I finally met Spartacus, who had arrived by running, and shook his hand. A hearty man, a muscle-brain but kind-natured, fighting solely for the weak—in a way, the most heroic of heroes. Perhaps he is the man most fitting of the true meaning of a brave warrior?
The image of a brave warrior has been tarnished in modern times, but traditionally, a brave warrior refers to a hero with such pure sense of justice and mission.
"Honestly, it was tough. Even stabbing him with a spear along the way... what kind of body is that..."
"Everyone worked hard."
Scáthach, along with Aífe, Deirdre, and Medea, arrived safely. Of course, I expected them to be unharmed.
"Certainly, as I heard yesterday, you are indeed building a single faction."
"Indeed... At this level, it's to the point where two factions would need to unite. Living up to the name of 'judge'."
Sisigou and Mordred looked at us with admiration. Just me and my wives would be enough. Furthermore, with Spartacus joining, and also...
"Wow... they're amazing people, Mother."
"They are. With these people, it might be okay..."
"Ooh, how can there be such a young weakling here! I sense an oppressor in this world that persecutes children! Ooh, my blood boils! Little compatriot, I, Spartacus, shall share love with you!"
"Wah~! So high!"
As if Spartacus and Jack were highly compatible, Spartacus pitied Jack and embraced her with love. Jack, riding on his shoulders, cheered and enjoyed it.
"Thank you. Thanks to you, we're safe."
"Jack is strong, but they are girls who are ultimately subject to compatibility. Moreover, being with you, who is not a magus, is even more dangerous. Putting aside winning being impossible, you would have become everyone's target."
"Yes... I know. But, I wanted to grant Jack's wish."
"Fufu, you are a thoughtful person. If it's you, it seems you could become those girls' real mother."
"No way... There must be someone better than me."
Having persuaded Rikudou Reika, Jack joined our side. Her goal is solely to find a mother for Jack. She believed that as a prostitute, she was insufficient to be Jack's mother. But... from my perspective, doesn't she look more suitable to be those girls' mother than anyone else?
"So what will you do? We'll be acting separately."
"Are you leaving? Mordred."
"Well, aren't we a different faction in the Holy Grail War? I'm happy to have met Dad... but I was summoned to fight. And, my wish to pull Caliburn still remains!"
"Ah, if it's that, I know the blueprint. Shall I make it for you?"
"... Why?"
"Huh?"
"Why do you know that?"
"When I went to save Artoria's heart a long time ago, Merlin showed it to me. So I know."
"... No, I want to win it with my own hands. So forget it."
That's a shame. I wanted to get closer... But still, those two are the dark horses of this Holy Grail War, so it should be fine. We'll meet again later.
"Well then, we're indebted to you, Ruler. Let's hope to meet again."
"Yes, take care."
As the two left, we discussed our future policy.
"Now, you two. Listen carefully. You two have effectively given up on the Grail."
"Ooh, Spartacus has no interest in such things. Only rebellion against oppression!"
"Yeah, we understand too. You said the Grail can't grant it, so we just want to live with our mother."
"Yes. So, you two will formally entrust yourselves to the supervisor Ruler, our faction. There's no particular rule problem. Servants of Masters who have declared their own elimination are also handled at the Ruler's discretion. To get to the main point, we will go to the Black Faction."
Medea immediately used magecraft to project an image in the air and showed it.
"Actually, one of my wives has already infiltrated the Yggdmillennia castle."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes. My wife, Nessa. The only one without combat ability. However, she is a genius of transformation. In the past, Cú Roí mac Dáire was a genius who could transform so well he could even deceive gods. His heart, which was killed by my nephew... my wife and goddess, The Morrígan, secretly retrieved it, and using that heart, bestowed Cú's transformation ability upon Nessa. Along with her unfilial son Conchobar's future sight, she is the type to conduct espionage activities like this. She wasn't originally, but..."
"So you've been easily obtaining their information?"
"Yes. Just yesterday, one homunculus escaped, and it is said that Black Saber saved him by transplanting her own heart. Currently, with Black Rider's help, he succeeded in escaping, and Nessa is hiding him now."
"Then the Black Faction must be in chaos? Just yesterday, even Archer's Master was injured..."
"That's right, Reika. They are currently in a crisis situation. Such people will find it hard to refuse our visit. Our goal is the protection of the Holy Grail. We just need to set up camp where the Greater Grail is and protect it. After that, we leave them to fight or not as they please. That's the kind of war this is."
"I see, I understand. The reason for protecting the Grail is because someone could steal it, right?"
"You catch on quickly. The one aiming to steal that Grail is essentially trying to bring about humanity's demise. The reason I was summoned is precisely to stop him. The moment he tries to steal the Grail, I will execute him on the spot. I could deal with him now, but..."
I looked at Jeanne Alter dozing off beside me... then Artoria drew her sword.
Thwack!!
"Gahk!? Y, you crazy woman!!!"
"Your head is a rock."
She swung the flat of her sword and smacked Jeanne's head to wake her up. Couldn't sleep? Jeanne rubbed the back of her head with a grimace.
"So... where were we?"
"You weren't listening."
"No, I was listening!? That's why... you said we'd eat lunch!"
"Lunch wasn't even mentioned."
As if she had seen many cases like Jeanne, Medea sighed as if familiar and explained again.
"Ahh... Since it's the Ruler, it's not a problem. That much is possible under the judge's discretion. And, not stopping it in advance is natural. Even though I'm an Alter, I am still the Ruler, Joan of Arc. Merely thinking and not doing is freedom, not a crime. Only when put into direct action should it be restrained; treating it before that would be unjust."
"Seeing this, Jeanne-chan is just~too inflexible."
"That's what being a judge means, Medb..."
Medb complained that Jeanne was too rigid, and Jeanne answered Medb as if it were obvious. After all, she is the real Ruler of this Holy Grail War. I just need to complete the deterrence mission I was given. I'll deal with him when he comes to steal. That Hanging Gardens too... I can destroy it in one strike. Though it would be a bit taxing...
The power of Caladbolg alone is an extreme force enough to blow away an island. In terms of pure destructive power, it's probably above Ea. It's true Ea is tremendous, but swinging Ea doesn't smash an island, does it? In terms of abilities, they would be evenly matched if they fought, but...
"She's really a stiff one."
"A child...?"
"Aren't you a child? We're both from the countryside, but you're too rigid."
Deirdre leaned back in her chair and snorted at Jeanne. Actually, the two are similar in some aspects... Deirdre is similar to Jeanne Alter, perhaps?
"Anyway, we're going to the Black Faction, right? That's fine. It's solely for the protection of the Grail; the enemy faction has attacked us several times, so it doesn't violate fairness either."
"Good, explanations are done... Now let's go. To Yggdmillennia."
The Master who pulled the short straw, I'm somewhat looking forward to meeting him directly.
We immediately headed for the Yggdmillennia castle, and the homunculi were flustered seeing us approaching majestically from the front, and soon golems appeared, but...
Zap!
Immediately, Medea's magecraft severed the golems' magical circuits and their connection to their Caster. I patted her head. Medea leaned against me happily. For some reason, Jeanne stared at her intently from the side...
First, we stood before the castle gate, and soon Vlad III showed himself on the castle wall.
"Ruler, what is the meaning of this?"
"What have we done? We have only come to carry out our duty."
"Duty... bringing the enemy's Berserker and the traitorous Black Assassin... and leading that many Servants?"
"The protection of the Holy Grail. That is what we must do. We have no intention of fighting you, and we are neutral with no intention of fighting the enemy faction either. Surely, you don't plan to stop us, the supervisors? If so, we would have no choice but to take the Grail in your possession by force and protect it as neutrals."
"..."
He didn't seem to trust us... but perhaps feeling that fighting this many Servants would be a loss, the castle gate opened.
"I will not tolerate any foolish acts. This is my domain; even with this number of heroic spirits, it would be difficult."
"Is that so? Well, we'll have to see about that."
I grinned and passed by him into the castle. In the castle lobby, all the Black Servants and Masters were waiting.
"Welcome, Rulers. You say you have come to protect the Grail... but from what, exactly, are you protecting it?"
"I cannot tell you that──"
"How dare you look at Fergus with such disrespectful eyes."
But then Aífe stepped forward... why?
"What is the meaning..."
"I acknowledge Lancer as a king of a nation, but I don't like the attitude of a mere brat like you standing on the same level as Fergus."
"Calm down, Aífe. I don't mind."
"I mind."
Then Artoria also drew her sword. Damn it, why are they like this?
"We need to make clear who is the superior and who is the subordinate."
"Indeed, that sounds interesting too."
"Ooh, a battle with an oppressor!"
"Hey, you all stop it. I'm getting embarrassed... You just want to fight, you battle maniacs!"
"Agreed~"
When even Scáthach raised her spear, Medb shouted and Deirdre also tried to stop them together. Really...
"Ahem...! Anyway, please guide us to the Grail? Darnic."
"... Very well."
Were they prepared to intercept us at any moment? Darnic, or at least the Black Faction excluding Vlad III, Chiron, and Avicebron, seemed to judge us only by numbers... They probably saw our parameters, but that just means they have that much faith in their own Servants.
We descended to the underground where the Grail was and confirmed the massive Greater Grail. Its form was somewhat different from the one I saw in Fuyuki. The world line is different and the timing of the First Holy Grail War is slightly off, so maybe that's why?
"Will you truly stay here?"
"Yes. We don't need any separate assistance."
"... Very well."
Darnic left with a dissatisfied face. He will probably monitor us from now on... But hmm~ I'll make sure he can't. I'll set up a bounded field right away, and I immediately called for Nessa.
Soon, Nessa arrived using a teleportation rune. She, who had been transformed into a homunculus soldier, returned to her original form.
"Good work, Nessa."
"Not at all, Fergus worked harder."
Now that Nessa had joined, what we had to do was simple.
"Now... let's eat."
I always cooked for everyone.