"I've witnessed something incredible. A more delightful experience than conquest."
For the first time, Waver actually agreed with Rider.
It was such a tremendous spectacle that, for a moment, he forgot he was participating in the momentous ritual of the Holy Grail War.
The sight of that fearsome yet beautiful woman, Archer, being rendered helpless, panting, and then disappearing!
And what a conversation they had, how impressive their discussion of love was.
Waver and Rider were equally impressed by the love triangle drama that was like a scene from a play.
Rider, nodding his head a few times as if savoring the previous scene, once again took the reins of his chariot.
"It seems I've had my fill of entertainment. This was not the ending I intended… but fine! I shall accept this too as one of the pleasures of war! Get on, boy!"
"W-Wait!"
"It has been a pleasure, heroes. Those who seek a bloody battle, call my name at any time! For any who fearlessly call a king's name shall surely meet a glorious end!"
Raising his sword high one last time, Rider soared into the sky with his Master and chariot. Pursuing him beyond the clouds was impossible for the remaining Heroic Spirits.
Of course, the only ones remaining were Saber, Lancer, and the Assassin who had infiltrated the wharf.
Of these, only two had shown themselves: Saber and Lancer.
Lancer spun his twin spears alternately. Then, steadying his stance, he asked.
"…Shall we continue our fight?"
"The mood has been shattered, Lancer."
"The same goes for me."
At Saber's reply, Lancer also smiled in response.
They both sheathed their weapons.
The dawn was breaking. The time for magi was over.
"I shall look forward to our next battle."
"Ah… of course."
Lancer quickly departed from the battlefield.
Saber dismissed her armor and changed into the suit Irisviel had prepared for her.
"Irisviel. Let us return… Irisviel?"
For some reason, her Master (the fake one) did not respond to her call.
She stared at the sky for a long while, her eyes sparkling, before finally turning her gaze to Saber.
"Saber. I've had a wonderful idea. Do you want to hear it?"
"…If you think I am worthy."
Saber replied calmly, but her insides were in turmoil.
Her high-ranking Intuition skill was warning her of a crisis.
It was a feeling similar to when Morgan had appeared. She guessed it wouldn't be anything too dangerous.
"What is your idea?"
"Let's find out… who that man of Morgan's and Archer's is!"
In the cheerfully smiling Irisviel, not a trace of the detached homunculus's atmosphere could be found.
Here stood a young girl captivated by a love triangle drama—something she had only ever encountered in books, and even then, only read a few lines because Kiritsugu disliked it—and romance stories.
"Aren't you incredibly curious? This is the first time I've ever seen anything like this in my life!"
"…Irisviel. This may be difficult for you to accept, but realistically, for us to seek out the Archer or Caster camp is tantamount to abandoning the Holy Grail."
Saber stated the cold reality, but Irisviel's bright smile did not fade.
"It's okay! Kiritsugu said he's already identified the residence of the person believed to be him! Let's go see him tomorrow… no, today!"
Saber couldn't help but nod.
Even with one hand rendered useless, the power of the King of Knights was not diminished.
She could protect Irisviel, even if it cost her life.
With that confidence, Saber decided to follow Irisviel's words.
"Then… we must first secure a means of transportation. In preparation for a retreat."
"Yes! Should we buy a car? Or a motorcycle?"
"With my Riding skill, anything will be possible. Please purchase a vehicle to your liking."
Irisviel and Saber left the wharf.
While Saber praised Kiritsugu's information-gathering abilities, she felt a faint anger that such important information was relayed only through Irisviel.
One hour after Gilgamesh disappeared in a fit of rage.
Morgan approached me as I stood guarding the cotton candy machine.
The timing was so exquisite it was as if she had waited for Gilgamesh to leave, and indeed, she said she had.
Instead of her revealing black dress, she came wearing modern clothes: a black knit sweater and jeans.
We sat on a bench and talked about what had happened.
"That is everything that occurred on the second night. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask, my husband."
"I have so many questions that, conversely, I don't know what to ask."
Morgan waited for my words with a demure posture.
Perhaps because of what happened at dawn, Morgan couldn't meet my eyes directly even once.
It was the same now.
Whenever we sat together, Morgan would always lean her body diagonally against me.
But now, she was sitting perfectly straight, maintaining a formal posture. She didn't even lean against the backrest.
Her slender waist, suspended in the air, looked so fragile. Even though she was much stronger than me.
"Morgan… No. Never mind."
I had wanted to question her when I saw her.
But when she acts like this, any desire to do so just vanishes.
How cunning. The word 'witch' truly suits her.
"Sigh."
"What is troubling you?"
"Everything is a problem. Everything."
Only heavy sighs came out. What could Morgan be thinking?
The Holy Grail War. A Holy Grail War that I, for one, have no need for….
It came to me.
"Morgan, what is your wish?"
"…My wish is the eternally continuing Fae Kingdom."
"You've already achieved that. I'm asking for your reason for participating in the Holy Grail War."
Morgan stared at me intently.
Quite literally, intently.
She just stared like that for a long time.
"W-What is it? I won't know unless you tell me."
"...…."
At last, Morgan let out a deep sigh.
She puffed out her cheeks, her whole body screaming, 'I'm pouting.'
"I'm sorry. Is it an important wish? So important you can't even tell me? Then you don't have to force yourself to say it."
"Not at all. You are completely wrong. Hmph… Were you always this dense, my husband?"
Morgan cupped my face in her hands.
She rubbed my cheeks this way and that, making my vision shake up and down.
"Idiot."
"I'm sooorrrry…."
After playing with me for a while, Morgan had somehow climbed onto my lap.
She sat on top of me, facing me. It was quite an improper posture to take on a park bench in the afternoon.
Her head tilted slightly. Our foreheads touched.
"Do you want to hear my wish?"
"…What happens if I hear it?"
Morgan left a short kiss on my forehead.
With a small peck, her face moved away again.
I saw a sad expression. Why?
"If you hear it, you will never be able to run away. Perhaps, my brother, you might even hate me for the rest of your life."
"There's no way I could hate you."
"If only that weren't a lie."
She kissed me again. This time, on both cheeks.
"My wish is simple. It is merely to invite you, brother, to my kingdom."
"What's wrong with that? I can do that much, can't I?"
"It is not such a simple story. I am a special Heroic Spirit, and the very land I was born from is a Lostbelt that does not belong to Proper Human History."
Instead of a lengthy tale of magecraft, Morgan explained it as simply as possible for my sake.
Morgan's world, the Lostbelt, is a parallel world that diverged from one where the fae failed to forge the Holy Sword.
These parallel worlds are worlds of countless possibilities. This much I already knew.
However, there was a slight difference; in Morgan's world, the Earth was wiped clean once, and everything on the surface disappeared.
It had become a world too far removed from Proper Human History to be considered a mere parallel world.
Such a parallel world must be destroyed. Because maintaining a parallel world consumes a great deal of power.
But Morgan ultimately protected her Lostbelt. Not only did she protect the world that had branched off from the great trunk of Proper Human History, but she also steadily expanded its size.
As a result, Morgan's Lostbelt had become a world that threatened Proper Human History.
It sought to wither the trunk of Proper Human History and establish the trunk of the Lostbelt as the new foundation of 'Proper Fae History'.
"It's difficult even when you explain it simply. Anyway, by forcibly maintaining a world that should have been destroyed, you end up destroying all other worlds, right?"
"Yes. That is correct."
"Is there a problem if the other worlds are destroyed?"
As if it were an unexpected question, Morgan's eyes widened.
She opened and closed her mouth slightly, her face blushing, before she quickly composed herself.
"All of my brother's connections would die, you see? The fox spirit, the fake pope, the King of Heroes… even the clay of the gods, all of them."
"Ah…"
If Proper Fae History becomes the new main trunk, the entire history of Proper Human History will evaporate.
"Do you understand? To be invited to my world means to abandon Proper Human History. Can you choose me, even if it means erasing all your other bonds?"
I could not answer Morgan's question.
"I could do it for you, brother. Because it is a world I created for you. I overcame the will of the world and established the Fae Kingdom."
That was the meaning of Morgan's faith.
To look only at me.
She built a nation to prove the dream I could not believe in, and she protected the land of Britain to preserve the memories of our family.
A conviction like the will of a star, one that would not stop even if the world turned against her, was the source that sustained her.
I do not possess that level of conviction.
"…I will absolutely win this Holy Grail War. I will use the Grail's resources to bring you, brother, to my Fae Kingdom."
"I see."
"To face the magi who will one day come, I will use the power of the Beast you possess. I need your help, brother."
Morgan's pale hands held my face. I was in her eyes, and she was in mine.
"Will you choose me? Can you sever everything else and trust only in me?"
Morgan's voice was trembling.
"Will you ride in the same boat as me?"