"Yeah, I'll keep going."
Roy didn't even hesitate, answering without a second thought.
"No matter what, I will realize my ideal. At this point, there's no turning back—I won't give up for anything."
"I won't collapse before achieving my goal."
Though traces of youth still lingered on his face, his demeanor was unshakably steady.
His eyes shone with unwavering determination, as if retreating had never been an option from the very beginning.
"I see. Then I won't say anything more."
Touko let out a long sigh, as though she had expected his answer all along.
"Maybe I shouldn't have taught you magecraft back then."
Her gaze lowered, obscuring her expression.
There was no telling what regrets lay hidden in her words.
"Oh? I'm actually grateful you did."
Roy chuckled, a line of text materializing in his palm, dancing like a tiny figure.
"Especially this complete set of Runes."
Incredibly versatile, incredibly useful.
Though not the Primordial Runes created by Odin, the Allfather of Norse mythology, a full set of Runes was still a mystery that would drive any magus family to madness.
Touko remained silent.
"Alright, enough of this depressing talk. Touko, you've been away for so long this time—did anything interesting happen?"
"Oh, quite a lot, actually. Misaki City is in chaos, Tokyo is reportedly overrun with cursed spirits, and the most bizarre thing? An artificial island suddenly appeared in the Pacific. Really, the world's getting stranger by the day."
"Wait—what?! An artificial island?"
"Why the big reaction?"
"What's on it? Please don't tell me there's some 'Fourth Progenitor' or something?"
"I've been meaning to ask—you always seem to know the weirdest things, don't you?"
"Just tell me—is there or not?!"
"Nope. Not a single vampire in sight."
"That's a relief… or maybe a bit of a shame."
"Though demons have been pretty active. After I ran out of funds, I even registered an exorcism company there."
"Seriously?"
Roy's face lit up.
"You're finally thinking about saving money?"
"Nope. Every time a demon shows up, some no-name company swoops in and snatches the job from the Exorcism Bureau at rock-bottom prices. I stayed there a whole month and didn't earn a single yen. So I left."
"...."
Touko's wandering life was far more eventful than one could imagine.
Especially now, with this increasingly bizarre Type-Moon world, fresh curiosities lurked everywhere, stirring her heart.
"Master, pardon the interruption, but might I have a word with you in private?"
Golden motes of light gathered, coalescing into the figure of a handsome young man clad in resplendent robes.
Rider.
He materialized beside them, cutting into their lively conversation.
"I'll leave you to it, then."
Though intrigued by Rider, Touko merely shrugged and stepped away from the veranda, leaving the space to Roy and his Servant.
"Rider, you're back. What do you think of this era?"
Roy patted the spot beside him, inviting Rider to sit.
Without hesitation, Rider swept the hem of his robes aside and settled down cross-legged next to Roy.
"Quite fascinating. But knowing such 'fascination' came at the cost of over six billion lives… well, I can't exactly laugh about it."
"True to form—always thinking of the greater good."
"Hah! I'll take that as a compliment, Master!"
Rider laughed heartily, his fox-like eyes crinkling with amusement.
"Speaking of which, there's something I wanted to ask you. That's why I requested a private conversation."
"What is it?"
"Last night, I caught glimpses of your past through our connection."
The mirth faded slightly from Rider's expression, his eyes darkening with an unfathomable depth.
"Since it was incomplete, I wanted to confirm it with you directly. Master, what is your purpose in this Holy Grail War? Or rather—what is the wish you seek to fulfill through the Greater Grail?"
The air on the veranda froze for an instant.
The smile vanished from Roy's face.
He raised a hand, as if to remove the glasses from his nose.
But his fingers paused mid-motion.
"...Ah, well. Servants and Masters are mentally linked—can't blame anyone for that."
Roy sighed, as if resigning himself, before his lips curled into a careless grin, sharp as a lion on the hunt.
"Fine. To achieve my wish, I'll need your help anyway. So I'll be honest with you."
"What my wish truly is—"
Roy laid bare his ideal.
And the reason behind it.
Without holding anything back.
The moment his words ended—
Rider's expression changed.
"Are you serious, Master?"
"Even if your plan succeeds and you win this Holy Grail War, the odds of your wish coming true are astronomically low! Are you truly willing to fight for something so distant?"
"How do you know it won't work unless you try?"
Roy's smile didn't waver.
"All I want to know is—Rider, will you lend me your strength?"
Rider's face shifted through a myriad of emotions.
Admiration. Pity. Awe.
"I owe you an apology."
Rider rose, then knelt on one knee beside Roy.
All traces of frivolity vanished, replaced by deep reverence.
"It seems my long years of cultivation have rusted my mind. To doubt your character after merely glimpsing your past, even daring to test you—for that, I apologize. This time, I measured the heart of a gentleman with my own petty standards."
"Getting an apology from a divine being—now that's what I call prestige."
Roy laughed, brushing it off.
Though that dramatic pause had genuinely startled him.
For a second, he thought Rider was about to renounce him as his Master. Scary stuff.
"I, Rider—no, I, Taigong Wang, swear upon my name as a disciple of the Primordial Celestial Venerable, that so long as this Servant body draws breath, I will protect you to the very end. With all my strength, I will aid you in fulfilling your wish!"
Rider—the legendary strategist of the Zhou Dynasty, Taigong Wang, also known as Lu Shang or Jiang Ziya—made his vow in the name of the highest deity of Taoism.
As a disciple of the Primordial Celestial Venerable and a divine figure in Taoism, such an oath from Taigong Wang was nothing short of earth-shattering. Had his senior brothers witnessed it, they would have been struck speechless with shock.
Because Roy's wish carried that much weight.
***
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