What followed can be divided into several episodes.
The first thing to talk about would be Caules Forvedge.
I returned and both myself and my master ended up being admitted to a hospital that the Clock Tower operates for about a week. It's a place that combines modern medicine with magic, and it seems to be mostly used by magicians. Due to the confidentiality issue and the need for specialized knowledge to suppress side effects, it was said that it was inaccessible to ordinary people anyway.
Thanks to that, I recovered quite a bit in just a few days.
The hospital was clean and modern, but the treatment of serving boiling green medicinal liquid contrasted that. Nevertheless, the effect was undeniable.
During my visit, Caules appeared.
He brought fragrant fruits and told me about how the incident was deemed an internal dispute among the Dead Apostles, and since the regulars of the Magic Eye Auction had their familiars sealed at a crucial moment, unnecessary information never spread. However, it seems that the clash between the Rail Zeppelin and the Child of Einnashe had been widely detected which did end up causing a stir between magi across the world.
Sometimes, when I struggled to find words in our conversation, he would casually look at flowers or scenery to avoid awkwardness, making it very comfortable for me even though I'm not good at socializing. It was somewhat mysterious that there were magi like him.
In the middle of that, he suddenly brought up a topic.
"Ah, um, I heard that Doctor Heartless told you about my sister?"
In the white hospital room, Caulis scratched his nose, looking embarrassed.
"Ah, w-well, I'm sorry."
"No, it's fine. I'm not hiding anything."
He smiled and put on his glasses, his eyes looking distant.
"My sister had much more talent as a magician than me. Everyone who knows the Forvedge family acknowledges that. Even after I have become a little better now that I have met the professor, I still wonder what would have happened if she had been the one who met him… things like that are what I worry about,"
His words were similar to the disguised Heartless.
Heartless called it possession. It was the type of transformation where the person themselves enters another body. However, I felt that there was something different about it. Maybe it is the desire to be different.
"But I liked being Caules," he had said.
Slur. The district operated by the Department of Modern Magecraft.
In reality, it was more of a barely cobbled-together street than a district, but Caules seemed delighted to mention its name.
"I never expected an imposter of me to appear, but I'm glad I came here anyway. I'm glad I got to meet the professor and I'm glad I got to see everyone. I’m glad that it was me, and not someone else."
He pats his chest confidently.
Lying down on the bed, he looks at me with kind eyes and says,
"Everyone, including Flat and Reines, are waiting for your return. Especially Svin, upon hearing that you were injured, he was so agitated that he almost abandoned the rest of his special lectures at Mystile. We all had to desperately stop him from charging into this hospital as a half-transformed beast."
“...Was he trying to finish me off?”
“Hahaha,” the boy laughed cheerfully.
He picked up an apple slice that he cut himself and then left with the following words.
“Thus, you must get well soon.”
＊＊＊＊＊＊
A few days later, I was discharged.
There were still places that hurt, but apparently, all the treatment that could be done in the hospital had been completed and I was asked to vacate the bed as soon as possible. It feels harsh, but it's more like me to be active than to lie in bed, so it was fine.
Once the paperwork was done, there was a familiar figure in a coat standing at the entrance of the hospital.
“master.
“Compared to you, I was only slightly injured, but we ended up being discharged on the same day.”
"That's not true at all," I say but he shakes his head and stands next to me.
He didn't seem to need a wheelchair, but he was still using a cane. He seemed to be struggling to walk, but I didn't offer to help him. He probably wouldn't appreciate it.
The bitter smell of a now familiar medicine was still faintly lingering.
“It’s time to return to Slur.”
“Yes,” I found myself nodding eagerly at my master's words.
We took a bus to Slur Street.
Master told me that since the Mystic Eye Killing glasses were so expensive, we needed to save some money. I followed him obediently because it felt like I was experiencing his usual demeanour again. However, I had to make an effort not to hum thoughtlessly.
We turned a few corners, passed through the barrier that keeps out the general public, and turned into the patchwork-like street.
However, something else made me stop.
A far eastern native dress was fluttering as it came from one end of the street.
The outfit was called kimono, and it depicted a crane. I remember hearing in the master's lecture that in Japan, because the voice of the crane carries far and wide, it is said to be a messenger from heaven. I believe the lecture continued to talk about how in contrast, in Europe, birds symbolize "awakening", and that there are several allegorical stories and coats of arms featuring a crane holding a white stone.
It was Adashino Hishiri.
"Ah, I heard you were being discharged today, I'm glad we could meet."
"Don't play dumb. There's no way this is a coincidence."
"Ara, you're still using a cane?"
Hishiri ignores the reply and pointed that out.
Perhaps Master had fully anticipated this, as he just snorted lightly and tapped the ground with the cane.
"I'll probably need it for about another week."
"I see. Take care of yourself. ...Today, I came to give you evidence I have had in my care."
With that, Hishiri handed over a small box.
After Master confirmed what was in the box, I felt like crying once again.
Inside was the holy relic that the master had paid such a huge sacrifice to recover - a faded, crimson piece of cloth
He carefully put the lid back on and placed it in his suit pocket.
"Thank you."
"The incident from seven years ago has ultimately gone unpunished," Hishiri continued.
"The Church too, at this point, would not want to rehash that incident and admit that the person they put in charge of the investigation was manipulated by the culprit. It would damage their reputation."
That would certainly seem to be the case. It seemed that a major reason Heartless, who was a former dean, was not being held accountable by the Magic Association was that he no longer held any position in the Clock Tower. Let alone for the ordinary police, it would be impossible to investigate an incident which was vested so deeply in the magical side of the world.
From darkness to darkness.
Once more, another incident goes by.
"Once all the verifications were over, it seems that Yvette L. Lehman was also released," Hishiri softly surveyed the old and new street mixed with brick and concrete.
Hishiri quietly looked around at the street, which was a mixture of old and new, brick and concrete.
Then,
"There's something I wanted to ask you,"
She broached a question to my master.
"What is it?"
"In terms of the incident. You would know best about the holes in your own deductions, wouldn't you?"
"Why did he summon the Servant?"
When Master responded immediately, Hishiri smiled.
"Indeed. A Ghost Liner is certainly a valuable thing. For a magus, it's not surprising to think about summoning one, even if it costs their life. However, it's not like there aren't other valuable things to obtain. Mystic Eyes are one of them. To put it simply, the risk is too high for the return. Also, if your reasoning is correct, Heartless was manipulating Karabo during the incident. If so, he should have been able to foresee that a nameless body double would appear if he summoned Faker using Iskandar's artefact."
The logic made sense to me, too.
Karabo was able to read the thirteen restraints of Rhongomyniad. If that were the case, it is hard to believe that the relic of Iskandar would not also reveal the body double to him. Heartless, who had planned so ingeniously, would naturally confirm at least that much.
"There's more to this incident, isn't there?"
Master nodded slightly.
"You said that the reason you were so desperate to save me was because a Lord dying would be an inconvenience. If that is so, then you have plans for me in the future. Ah, we will meet again then, surely."
After all, Master was also convinced that Heartless and Faker had survived. They may have suffered some wounds as they backed down there, but that last spell I heard would have kept them alive.
After saying that much, Master suddenly asked back.
"I wanted to ask you one question, too."
"Go ahead. It would be rude to expect you to answer alone."
Hishiri urged, and after clearing his throat, Master continued.
"I don't think you missed the importance of the Nazar Boncuğu. However, if you wanted to keep it from evidence to support your theory, then it would have been safer to seize it and claim that there was no such thing. At first, I thought you were encouraging someone else to deduce correctly, but that is too roundabout. Besides, I was in a coma at the time, if I was the one you were testing."
"...I see. I assume you already have a hypothesis then?"
“More or less,”
Master whispered, looking across Slur Street.
The sky was pleasantly clear today. Although it was winter now, the sun was shining and it felt warm for the first time in a while. It was not an appropriate description for the two magi nor for the content of the conversation, but it seemed close enough if one thought of it as a temporary temperature that would be lost sooner or later.
"At first you said that your trip on the Rail Zeppelin, was for your own personal reasons. What if we consider that to be... only half of a lie? What if you had wanted to draw out someone in particular by deliberately opening with a false theory?"
"The incident was very unexpected for me."
She said, as if to just make it clear.
Roughly speaking, though, your hypothesis is correct. That is why, when you offered to cooperate, I immediately accepted, and did I not cast a spell on Miss Trisha head as well as on the Nazar Boncuğu?"
"Yes. I'm grateful. Otherwise, I would have suffered greatly. It may very well have cost me my life."
"I saved your life, did I?"
“Hindsight is 20/20.”
Curtly, Master's lips twisted.
The look on his face was amusing, or so I thought, after he let out a little laugh, "to answer your question, it is a very similar situation to yours and Miss Reines'," Hishiri responded.
Her kimono waved in London's winter, as she smiled as she always did.
"...Dr. Heartless is my brother-in-law. We were both adopted into Norwich."
＊＊＊＊＊＊
"Oh, my. If you are looking for my brother and his apprentice, they have already left the hospital."
Reines looked up with a wry smile.
The hallway was made of linoleum, with a faint scent of disinfectant.
Her eyes were glowing red with amusement. Since this hospital is a magic hospital, they don't even use eye drops. Nobody, whether a doctor or a nurse, is bothered with that level of care.
"You, I wonder if anyone has ever told you that you have bad timing?"
"I-I am not here to see either of them!"
"I'm sorry. Since I came here as a follow-up, I misunderstood the situation. In any case, there was someone who provided me with an extra supply of valuable secret medicines, just as the hospital was about to confiscate the remainder."
Almost laughing, the girl's shoulders trembled.
"It seems that your help in the case was also very helpful."
"The Animusphere do not wish to owe you anything."
Olga Marie Asmleit Animusphere, a girl of about 11 years old, combed her smooth silver hair with her fingers as she answered.
Then she turned around and quickly bowed her head.
"I am grateful to Trisha for what she did for me. Or at least, to what Lord El-Melloi was trying to convey on her behalf."
"My brother would have asked you to put on a II," closing one eye, Reines spoke her mind.
After gazing away for a few seconds, Olga Marie switched the subject.
"I was actually going to ask him about seven years ago, but my father wouldn't even see me."
“Ah,”
Blinking at the unexpected change of subject, the girl from the Department of Astronomy continued.
"My father had high hopes for the Grail war, yet ended up giving up on it. I believe that If the Grail War had been what he expected, things might have turned out differently. ...It's a time I don't know, a world I don't know."
"You're more of a poet than I thought."
Olga Marie's cheeks flushed.
She turned my gaze away and looked out the window and saw something unexpected reflected in the glass.
"I don’t mind it. So, it’s all fair and square now, right?"
Reines was reaching straight for her hand.
We are both the heirs of a Lord, after all. Since we are both aristocrats, I don't think it's a bad idea to take this opportunity to deepen our relationship.
"You are very different from your older brother."
“Well, that's because we're not blood-related.”
Olga Marie took a small breath as the older girl twisted her lips in amusement.
Then she shook the outstretched hand.
"Yeah. I think you and I would get along well, regardless of your brother.
“By all means, as long as we're of use to each other.”
At these words, Olga Marie also smiled confidently.
＊＊＊＊＊＊
After parting ways with Hishiri Adashino, there was a considerable commotion inside the main academic building of the Department of Modern Magecraft.
The reason was that the students of the El-Melloi classroom, upon spotting their professor, greeted him with great excitement. I was also happy to see that Master's popularity was clearly visible. However, he dismissed the attention of the students with a grim disposition, saying that he was now physically impaired.
The revelry continued until we finally entered his private room, up the stairs from the hall.
After confirming that we had successfully locked the door behind us, Master sat deeply in his chair, keeping his cane nearby. At the same time, I heard Master groan loudly as he checked to see if any students were trying to force their way through the windows or ceiling.
“This is Reines’ fault…”
Apparently, in the name of the flight magic and reimbursement for work done while she was in the hospital, plenty of paperwork was forced upon him. The bitterness on Master's face is probably due to the fact that she is aiming for the very edge, where his wounds will not worsen.
“Um, if there's anything I can do to help-”
"No, it is fine. This is the work of a Lord. I'll take care of one thing at a time."
He said stiffly and picked up a fountain pen with a griffon design.
The scratching sound of a brush coming over paper continued for a while. I decided to clean the room for the first time in a while. Unlike my apartment, this room is basically tidy, but if I am away for more than a week, dust will accumulate.
While lightly patting here and there with a feather duster, I suddenly spoke up.
“What does it mean to be ‘adopted’ by Norwich?”
Of course, it is about Hishiri.
After a long time at his desk, Master spoke up as he signed his name.
"Norwich has always been known as the 'daddy long-leg' house, as they would support gifted children. Usually, they simply help to fund tuition, but there has also been a pattern of outright adoption. In the Clock Tower, there are a good number of people with the Norwich surname, and usually for this reason."
With his eyes downcast, he continued.
"It was Norwich that was the driving force behind the establishment of the Department of Modern Magecraft. That is why the department's second name is Norwich."
“Ah…”
Thus, I finally got it.
"Then that is why Heartless was the former dean of the School of Modern Magecraft..."
“That is likely so. Thus, Miss Adashino must have been the one who ended her association with Norwich once she became a registered member of the Department of Law. I have heard of that happening many times before, since there is constant factional disputes within the Clock Tower. Norwich generally doesn't chase after those who leave."
Putting down his fountain pen, Master folded his hands across his neck.
He stretched them out, then pulled out the small box Hishiri had given him earlier. Putting it in his desk drawer, he locked it with a click and chanted a short incantation.
“The lock is completely useless, but it's better than being locked with a strong key made by a thief. It would have been best if it had been left in this private office, as it usually is.”
The words were spoken with a wry smile, mixed with the lament that if he had kept it safe, there would never have been an incident in the first place.
Then, he takes out his cigar case in short order.
“Master. Even more cigars…”
“I have only had this one today. After all, they didn't let me smoke in the hospital,” with that, he closed one eye.
"Promise?"
"Yeah, I'm a man of my word."
I used a cigar cutter to cut one off, then lit it by slowly searing the tip with a match. I knew that method suited Master.
He takes his time to inhale and fully enjoy the smoke, and then he puffs it out.
Perhaps because he had said he would have only one case, he was able to take more time than usual savouring it, before cutting another cigar.
"I went through the process while I was in the hospital. I officially withdrew my place in the Fifth Holy Grail War."
At last, I heard those words. They were words I had been wanting to avoid for a long time.
Thus, I said something unnecessary.
“Why…!?”
"Originally, it was my way of settling the score," Master replied.
"Iskandar was the Servant who should have won the Holy Grail War, and I wanted to prove it. I wanted to prove that Iskandar was the Servant who should have won the Holy Grail War, and that the only reason he lost the Fourth Holy Grail War was because he was an inferior Master."
The cigar smoke felt terribly bitter.
Master's words sounded just like the ones I had heard on that train. Thoughts that he had surely been thinking about for a very long time. Thoughts that have been the groundwork of Lord El-Melloi II's existence for the past ten years.
"But I have had enough of this. This is my own personal reckoning, not Iskandar's. It's a regret, but it's not one that I should cling to. As someone who has been touched by him, and as a Lord of the Clock Tower, this is something I must settle with. ...Besides,"
‘besides’, he added after a breath.
"To be able to take a shot at that other guy is something I'll be proud of for a long time to come."
It wasn't the usual, troubled smile.
It wasn't the fearless, scowling one he turns on his enemies.
The master had a clear, almost too pure, joyful smile on his face.
I was too dazzled by his words and his smile. I felt that this person deserved so much more, but when I saw that smile, I couldn't say anything.
“Gray,” once more, Master spoke to me.
"I'm sorry, but I'm sure I can't do this all on my own. I want you to fight with me."
Right then, I could not respond.
I rubbed my face, scratching it. I wanted to look the way I thought I should look, just for this one moment. Even though my body was not doing exactly what I wanted, I tried my best to keep the corners of my lips tight.
“...If, I am good enough…”
I ended up with a face that looked like a tearful smile and said that.
At that moment, the door, which was supposed to be locked, opened, and two small figures fell down in a flurry.
"Yes! Me too, me too!"
"Hey, Flat! Don't get ahead of me!"
I don't need to tell you who the two entangled students were.
"Flat, Svin."
"I just finished doing all sorts of things in my hometown of Monaco! Why, the dealers at Van-Fem's Casa casino were a formidable foe!"
"And I finished my special lecture at the First Department! Oh, and welcome back, little Gray! There is a sweet, spicy, gray aroma that throbs within my chest!”
Both of them stood up with great vigor and snapped to their feet as if in reverence.
Perhaps realizing this, Master did not reproach them and instead offered them the same thing.
"Can I ask you both to do the same?"
"By your leave, Professor!"
“Of course, Instructor!”
Flat and Svin were the first to insist.
Then, I looked at the other person on the other side of the door.
“...Yvette.”
"Haha. You may have heard by now, but I've been released by the Department of Law, and I'm ashamed to admit that I've only just returned home! Well, then, since you're talking about something important, as both a spy and an aspiring paramour, would it be wrong for me to want to ask you about it? How important is what you are talking about? You see, the Mystic Eye that I was supposed to have won at the auction was cancelled because it was used in the Great Mystic Eye Projection.”
The girl quietly comes out and fiddles with her pink twin-tail hair.
“Normally, I feel that she would have been subject to total denunciation, but since she had already admitted to being a spy for the Meluastea faction anyway, it was no surprise for Master. Flat and Svin must have heard about what was going on, as they did not show any signs of denouncing her either.”
Maybe this is just another day in the life of a Clock Tower magus.
"Ihihihihihihi, this is going to get noisier still!"
Ad's voice struck at my earlobe.
Then,
“Ah, that’s right,”
Master turned to the students.
"Flat, I'll ask you to write a remorseful letter regarding how you secretly planted a wiretap function in Caules' primitive battery. Also, I am tripling your homework during your trip home so that you can finish it before your next class."
"Are you a demon, Professor? It is rather cool to be called a demon god, isn't it? Oh, and how about the new Japanese Oni deck for the upcoming Heroic History War card game, there are so many kinds of demons to choose from, including Ibaraki-douji, Shuten-dōji, Hoshikuma-douji, wind demons, water demons, and even invisble demons! Next time, I'll have my Japanese friend import the latest cards for me..."
“...You're right. I understand your remorse now. Shut up for a minute."
"No, Professor! Don't come near me! Don't come near me with your fingers wagging!"
Immediately, Ad's prediction came true.
With a real racket, Master's 'reinforced' right hand lifted Flat's face just barely off the ground.
＊＊＊＊＊＊
─ ─ This story goes on for a little while longer.
Another week or so later, it was night.
It was the middle of December. The city was already in the Christmas mood, and I could always hear jingle bells somewhere. I used to find the sight of so many people crowded together terribly eerie when I first arrived in London. The crowds of people who got into the gray buildings every day at the same time looked like a line of the dead on their way to the graveyard.
Now... at least, I don't feel as bad.
Plush balloons float by, cheerful music plays, and people on the street seem a little happier than usual. I've come to accept it that way. I will probably never be able to completely fit in, but I have come to the point where I can look at the unfamiliar scene with a sense of calm, knowing that I don't have to reject it.
Suddenly, a particularly lively tune caught my ear.
It was a particularly vivid scene in London before Christmas.
It was apparently a parade. People in costumes and fancy dresses were parading in a procession, and they danced beautifully against the backdrop of an orchestra-like band. Behind the slow procession, beautiful fireworks were often shot off, and the crowd cheered.
(......New department store?)
The grand parade was apparently to celebrate the opening of the department store.
The graceful white building was now revealed in a space that had been under construction for quite some time. I was in the mood for yet another London landmark, and thought vaguely that this must be a great success as an opening.
But the parade was not the only reason I stopped.
It was because a figure with a violin case was waving at me at the entrance of the department store.
".....Mr. Melvin."
"Hi," with that, the young man with pure white hair laughed.
Since he is a noticeable person by any means, people around him turn to look at him simply because he is on a public street. I needlessly worry that this is not good for a magi, for whom concealment is a virtue.
“Um, why are you here?”
"Ha-ha-ha. This is my mother's business."
Melvin's cupped his chin at the building behind him.
"The department store, sir?"
"Yes. Tonight is the inauguration party, and I was feeling well enough to go out, so I just wanted to say hello. Even magi need to have a public profile, you know."
It was on a different scale than that of a magus, which made me gulp in surprise. I should have already learned enough at the Mystic Eyes auction, but when it was an event that took place in public, it was a different sort of surprise.
"I am just about finished, would you like to join me for some tea?"
“No, sorry... I'm going to do a big cleaning of my master's room today."
In my hands were the tools for the job.
In particular, I bought shoeshine brushes and a cloth with the money I made from my part-time job.
This is the first time I picked out and purchased my own products, so I was very nervous and bit my tongue when I made the purchase. It's okay, though, because I'm going to use it for my own boots too. I was also thinking of getting a little help from Master, since he finally got rid of his cane the day before yesterday.
“If that is so, then we must go now then.”
“....I-I understand.”
The forcefulness of the situation pushed me over the edge and I was forced to nod my head.
Melvin, who had quickly stepped in beside me, walked down the busy Christmas street for a while, and then, in a tone as if he were beginning to hum, he cut in.
"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute."
"Talk to me? I don't think I am interesting,"
I was honest.
The boy cleared his throat as if to say, 'That's what I like about you,' a comment that made me feel like my teeth had fallen down my throat.
”By the way," the young man said.
For some reason, the look on his face made me think of those demons I had read about in picture books.
"I wonder if you have ever heard of our relationship with the El-Melloi faction?"
"No. We don't talk about that sort of thing."
Although there must be plenty of debt, I had never heard of the detailed contents of it.
"I see. Well, then, that's just great. Originally, we have been working on a fifty-year plan to rebuild the damaged source Crest of the El-Melloi line. I should mention that the expected regeneration rate of 50 years is too high of an expectation for anyone other than my family. However, in addition to that, I also have Weaver Velvet's collateral - the Velvet family's Magic Crest - in my custody."
Magic Crest
An indispensable element for a magus, which has played a large part in past cases.
“Why would you have that?”
“It's quite simple. When he was made Lord of El-Melloi by Mistress Reines, his Magic Crest was taken as collateral. And who better to take care of it than me, the tuner?”
Ah, I almost shouted.
I had heard something along those lines several times before. It had come up in conversation before that Reines had taken something important as collateral from Master.
But the details were new to me.
"Is that a valuable ...... Master's Crest?"
"No? To put it bluntly, it has almost no value as a Magic Crest. The Velvet family has only been around for three generations, and the original is not very good. It's the type of Crest that doesn't have many side effects, but also doesn't have much magic engraved on it. However, this is the only Crest that corresponds to the Weaver Velvet in this world. In terms of not letting a magus betray you, it's the best collateral. It's like taking away their reason for living right from the start."
It would be, given the nature of the Magic Crest.
A symbol of that magus, passed down from generation to generation from their ancestors. It is another organ. The reason why they are so particular about lineage is because only their own descendants can pass on the Magic Crest. The Crest is an indispensable component for Master to become a true magus.
And no matter how much that man despairs of his own talent, he has not given up.
Reines must have absolute faith in her brother.
From her point of view, she knows that Master would never betray her.
(......Maybe,)
maybe, I think.
I guess that's how it all began.
“...”
Strangely enough, there was no stirring in my heart.
Even if that was the beginning, it didn't change the master and Lainez that I know now, or their relationship, because it seemed so natural to me.
"Hmmm. It doesn't shock you too much?"
"I guess."
I said to myself, as if somehow it was someone else's problem.
The young man who had been peering at me hummed. He sounded an equal mixture of very bored and very interested.
I remained silent and continued to walk for a bit.
At some point, the number of people on the street had dwindled. It was because we were approaching Slur. Soon it will be a place of magi. It is a buffer zone, a place where reality and magic meet.
There was a somewhat lonely Coke vending machine.
Potted flowers lined up in the window of an old-fashioned apartment.
Contradictory yet harmonious, the smell of life melted in the dark yet temple-like night.
Suddenly, I asked a question.
"Mr. Melvin, why do you call him Waver?"
"Yeah? Why not?"
Melvin tilted his head, as if it was rather strange to be asked.
"He will pass the name of Lord El-Melloi to someone else one day. They won't be the II, or even the III, but rather the true Lord El-Melloi. Then, won't it be lonely with no one to call him by his true name?"
I blinked at him as he said this in the most serious manner.
The young man spoke to me in a polite manner, as if he were teaching me addition.
"The Fourth Holy Grail War had a profound effect on Waver. It's the reason I even took notice of him."
Melvin says passionately under the winter night sky.
“However, even the previous nineteen years must have been an important time for Waver, for without that time, he would not have been able to become the man he is today. Likewise, if he had not been able to change, he would not have been able to become the man he was today. Likewise, if he should lose the title of Lord, then it would be as important a time for him as ever. Or at least, that's how I see it, and isn't that enough?"
The time leading up to, and during, the Fourth Holy Grail War.
And the time when he will cease to be a Lord.
Ah, that’s it.
That’s right.
Something I had lost sight of because the influence of the Holy Grail War was too great. Something I had forgotten because I took it for granted that he was a lord. Even though this self-proclaimed brute is a bastard - perhaps because he is a bastard - he seems to arrive at the obvious things that everyone else overlooks with ease.
I was a little frustrated.
But there are things that even I can say.
I took a breath, “Even so, to me, he is my Master,” and replied.
"For Mr. Flat, he's a professor, and for Ms. Caules, Ms. Luvia, and Mr. Svin, he's a teacher. For other students, too, I think it's the same. I'm sure that will never change."
I hoped that I was able to stand up to him, if even a little.
Melvin looked at me with a mysterious expression on his face.
"You are absolutely right. Yeah, I knew you had a slightly different angle on him than I did. Perhaps, though, we are saying the same thing."
"'Isn't that a contradiction?'
"Of course not. A person's number of faces increases as the number of people who see them increases, doesn't it? Conversely, if no one sees you, you have no face at all."
I didn't mind the peculiar logic.
"It was a pleasure to meet you. Here we are."
With a wave of his hand, Melvin spun around. Soon his back was covered in darkness, and even my eyes couldn't see him anymore.
Suddenly, I looked up at the night sky.
Before I knew it, snow had begun to fall.
The white crystals, which were gradually gaining momentum, made me anticipate that there would be a significant pile-up in the morning.
I wanted to see Master as soon as possible.
I couldn't resist wishing upon the snowflakes that were falling - and the moon that was shining faintly amongst the clouds. I walked a little faster, but eventually, my legs slowed down as I headed directly for the street of Slur.
Please.
Please, may he have a future that will reward him as much as possible──.
Originally Posted by Rafflesiac
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