Inside a room.
"Merry-chan is just too cute! Looking at her calms the rage I felt earlier because of Merlin!"
Doctor Roman stared obsessively at the new streamer, her soft and adorable voice like that of an angel bringing light and warmth to the world.
After watching the special episode The Flower Magus, he had been so mad he almost lost his appetite for strawberry cake.
(T/N: ....Who should tell him?)
How could someone be that scummy?
He abused King Artoria since she was a child, forcing a ten-year-old girl to sleep only two or three hours a day.
While traveling across nations, he kept causing chaos, treating everyone like clowns for his amusement.
Later, when Morgan created the artificial human Mordred, he didn't even inform Artoria or Nameless.
And in the end, after provoking the fairies, he ran off to hide in the Tower at the End.
He didn't even participate in Artoria's final battle.
After watching The Perfect King, he had hoped maybe Merlin had real familial feelings for Artoria after raising her, and couldn't bear to witness her doomed end.
But the truth was, the bastard was just a heartless nightmare!
Damn that Merlin! Nameless should've just cut him down with a single strike back then!
"But Merry-chan is just so cute!"
The more Dr. Roman watched, the more he liked her.
Just looking at her was like eating strawberry cake—his heart felt sweet and tangy.
Thank goodness for this little angel, soothing his soul.
Without hesitation, he took out his salary and donated a "Small TV" to her with the message: "Merry-chan, I like you!"
After all, she was a newbie streamer.
His donation of over a thousand "Small TVs" instantly shot him to the top of the leaderboard!
In response, she gave him a sweet smile: "Thank you for your support, Doctor Onii-chan! You're the best!"
She smiled at me!
She has me in her heart!
Does she… like me?
Dr. Roman was over the moon, and suddenly the money he spent didn't hurt at all.
Looks like he had to work even harder to earn money so Merry-chan could always be beautiful and adorable!
===============
Avalon
Land of endlessly blooming flowers.
At the top of the towering Tower at the End—
Merlin's face was full of glee. "Tch, otakus are so easy to milk!"
With his Clairvoyance that let him view the present across the entire planet, Merlin could watch anything from his perch atop the tower.
He never leaves, yet knows all the happenings in the world!
In fact, if he just committed suicide, he could ascend directly to the Throne of Heroes as a Grand Caster!
Though he kept a low profile, he was no less powerful than that attention-hogging King of Heroes.
That guy might be the oldest heroic king. But Merlin? He's the oldest NEET.
He's been holed up in Avalon for 1,500 years!
The only difference is that the other guy's Clairvoyance lets him see part of the future, while Merlin's only shows the present—as if freely browsing the internet, watching whatever he wants.
Besides a few top-tier Heroic Spirits, no one could block his gaze.
Staring with great interest at a floating illusionary screen before him, Merlin muttered, "Who would've thought that the uploader 'Alaya' is the real Alaya?"
The mysterious uploader "Alaya" had posted With of Vengeance about Jeanne and The Perfect King about Artoria.
These two videos were proof enough that the uploader was indeed the collective will of humanity—Alaya.
That's why Merlin had the idea to become a VTuber himself—to see what Alaya was truly planning.
It seemed Nameless was Alaya's favorite counter guardian. He wondered if that being would come cause trouble for him.
"Huh? The Perfect King just got a bonus episode?"
Merlin instinctively tried to click and watch it.
But—
A message popped up:
[You do not have permission to view this content!]
What???
Merlin was stunned. He had Clairvoyance that could view anything on Earth, yet he was denied access?
He couldn't even see the episode's name—it was just "*".
Even worse, all related discussions were censored into garbled code!
Fan edits were nothing but black screens or mosaics.
The audio? Completely scrambled into static.
"What did I do to make you target me like this?"
Merlin was utterly baffled.
Nightmares like him fed on human dreams, constantly leeching off humanity.
But he was different.
He had human emotions!
Kindness, gentleness, compassion, conscience… a true outlier among nightmares.
And yet now, even he was being locked out by Alaya?
"Tch, whatever. It's probably just some slice-of-life episode between Nameless and Lilia."
Merlin shook his head and tossed it aside.
Given Alaya's love for Nameless, it was likely just some heartwarming daily story to make everyone jealous.
That's all it was!
"Ria tried summoning Nameless earlier but failed… Since Mo-chan also wants to see Nameless, I might as well do her a favor."
Merlin smiled wider, clearly entertained.
Being stuck indoors for 1,500 years made him crave interesting events.
Like… having Mordred find Nameless first, just to see the expression on Ahoge King's face.
That thought alone made him giddy!
To avoid Arthur noticing, he reached out online.
He sent a message:
"Mo-chan, it's Merlin. Want me to help you find Nameless?"
"Screw off!"
Mordred saw the message pop up and didn't hesitate to reply.
This bastard was obviously here to laugh at her.
Now he even had the audacity to message her?
Can you please just be a decent human being?
What???
Merlin was shocked by the reply. Didn't Mordred used to like him a lot?
What happened?
He refused to give up and messaged again:
"I have Clairvoyance that can see the entire world. I can find Nameless before your father does!"
"No need!"
Mordred ate a spoonful of mashed potatoes. It tasted like wax, but she forced it down. She had considered blocking him but ended up sending one more message:
"How do I find Nameless?"
If she could find Nameless—even if it meant working with this bastard nightmare—so be it!
Then, when Father saw her steal Nameless away… she'd be furious! Hah!
"Tch, hooked again. I knew you couldn't resist the temptation."
Merlin beamed.
She must've just been acting tsundere earlier or thought he was a scammer.
Aside from Mordred, that emperor from France also wanted to reconnect with Nameless!
Now then—
As long as they could find Nameless, the real show could begin~
———
Achoo!
Sanjiro sneezed and quickly tightened his coat. "Am I too weak, or is someone talking about me?"
While at the supermarket picking up some daily necessities, he saw that frugal girl again—Rin Tohsaka.
At that moment, she stood in front of the meat stall, her beautiful face full of hesitation and inner struggle.
Sanjiro smiled and greeted her.
"Tohsaka-san, you're here shopping too?"
"Don't get the wrong idea! I'm just… just trying to experience an ordinary person's life."
Rin responded weakly.
At school, her image was that of a perfect noble lady—how could she be seen buying groceries herself?
"People like me always grab discount coupons first. That way, things are much cheaper. Here, have a few."
Sanjiro handed her some coupons.
"I-I don't need—fine… thank you."
Rin blushed. For a noble lady to fall to the point of using coupons—how shameful!
"Well, I'll be going then."
After giving her the coupons, Sanjiro left.
If he stayed any longer, this thin-skinned tsundere lady might collapse from embarrassment.
After buying his stuff, he walked into a nearby alley—only to spot a familiar white creature.
It had a fluffy, enormous fox tail, but a body like a cat.
A mystical being, as if it had stepped out of a fantasy into reality. And at this moment, it was staring right at Sanjiro—without blinking.
It was the white creature from the The Flower Magus bonus episode, the one Merlin had thrown off—
Fou!