"It's morning~! Master! The meal is ready~"
Thanks to Emiya's versatile projection magecraft, we were able to create a tent and set up a temporary residence.
The size was made larger than large, and the tent was spacious enough that it wouldn't be cramped even with many people inside.
It was a barracks wider in form than the mobile structures like gers you see in Mongolia.
And there was even a bathhouse.
It was built with a structure similar to the Rabbit Squad's rabbit bath from Blue Archive.
Since there are men and women, male baths, female baths, and mixed baths were arranged separately, and towels were also sufficiently stocked.
For food and ingredients, the pocket dimension pouch prepared by Medea contained enough food and ingredients to last a year, and there were huge vegetables and greens, enough to survive on.
Well, the downside is that meat and fish have to be procured directly, but anyway, so what?
The breakfast table had sushi, grilled fish, rolled omelets, grilled meat, hot pot, eel over rice, onigiri, and more.
And various Servants were sitting there…
""""""""""Let's eat.""""""""""
And so they began their meal.
It's Japanese food, so it can't be helped, but everyone started eating deliciously.
"It's nice, like a family…."
"Oh~ the tangy taste is good too? It's a shame there's no alcohol, though~"
"In India, there is a food called curry…. Food from other countries is good too."
"So this is Japanese food. I wish I could have left something like a photo, but it's a shame there's no camera."
"Mmm~ delicious!"
"Hector, try this too."
"Uhe? Lea, you're making me feel a bit pressured?"
"Lea? Is that a nickname?"
"Uh… if it's a problem, just Pen…."
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"No, you can call me Lea."
"Uh… okay."
In a somewhat romantic atmosphere, Archer clicked his tongue with a feeling of 'this guy and that guy, always romance,' and a gaze that seemed to say 'drown hugging your troubles,' but Hector, seemingly uninterested, accepted and ate the food Penthesilea gave him.
It seemed he was in a situation where he couldn't really refuse.
After everyone ate deliciously, you could see satisfied expressions all around.
I stepped out of the tent and looked outside.
"When will it start~ I'm bored…. I want to watch and see."
"Uhe~ I'm starting to think I might have gotten hooked by a strange Master? Well, revenge against Achilles is good too, but…. I guess there won't be a day to fight seriously?"
"By the way. I'm looking forward to Hector. Achilles survived even obsession, and if it weren't for the forced duel at the end, he would have lived."
"This old man is quite tired from that experience, I guess~ Even if I want to torment that Achilles guy, I just don't have the motivation, you could say?"
"Right, you rest. I'll do it…."
At Penthesilea's words, Hector smiled wryly and said.
"Still, leaving it all to Lea feels a bit off."
"……. Is that so."
There was an atmosphere as if Penthesilea's face was slightly flushed, but we decided to move on.
In contrast, Emiya, perhaps feeling a chill in his side. It's said he only heard the sound of clicking tongues.
"Ah…, first of all, after the Holy Grail War ends, those who want to incarnate can do so…. Since our base is in Fuyuki, incarnation will happen much later."
"Chirp, I don't particularly mind~!"
"Heh? I thought you were a Holy Grail holder, but it seems incarnation is basically possible? Even this old man is quite surprised."
"I see. I am satisfied with fighting Karna."
"Hmm…. If I incarnate, I would like to travel once."
"Mmm~ For now, I don't need it. As a follower of Buddha, I think it's not allowed."
"Hmm, incarnation, huh…."
"Um… Hector, what will you do? (With a gaze that seems to be gauging Hector's reaction)"
Hector stroked his chin at Penthesilea's words and said.
"First, it's better to survive the Holy Grail War and then think. Incarnation also requires surviving to do anything about it."
"If you stay here, I will definitely stay too."
"Haha, that's a bit pressuring?"
"……."
The conversation went back and forth in a structure that seemed like a couple pairing yet not.
There seems to have been a story that Penthesilea liked Hector, but well, Hector had a wife.
It also strongly feels like a type of unrequited love from afar.
There was also an atmosphere that even if she confessed to Achilles, he seemed to already have someone he loved, and since she fought alongside Hector as an ally, there is an inference that she naturally loves Hector, but practically, since Hector already had someone he loved, I wonder if it wasn't a situation where she couldn't even confess.
'It's complicated. Very complicated.'
"Akira, do you have a plan, anyway?"
At Artoria's words, I nodded.
"For now, we watch, and when a battle between Servants unfolds, we fight then. Or, just watch."
"It seems you're not obsessed with victory."
"Looking at the current situation from the start, we are a third party, and even if we win the Holy Grail War, the Grail's function must be stopped. As it is omnipotent, it also has many drawbacks, so it must be remodeled into a Grail for incarnating Servants. And it seems there are more Grails elsewhere, so we should collect them as much as possible and prepare to utilize them."
"I see…."
"Hmm, I can roughly guess the reason for collecting the Grails. Anyway, is the reason you need me because of Rule Breaker?"
"Yeah, if needed, we'll use that. Honestly, I don't know about Emiya's combat power, but he's a Guardian who has experienced countless battlefields. He's an expert in this field, right?"
And so, Emiya wore a displeasing smile, and you could see his mouth reaching his ears.
"I see."
It seems like he's about to become unlucky….
As his heart is like glass, his mood seems to go up and down….
"Mikon, but I think we're forgetting something important. Are we going to our main base like this?"
"Why do we need a main base? Do we have a builder here?"
At those words, everyone looked at me with an atmosphere of having nothing to say.
Benienma is just an innkeeper who is good at cooking, so she doesn't know.
Hector, Penthesilea, Arjuna, Cú Chulainn are warriors, so they don't know.
Georgius and Xuanzang Sanzang belong to religion and are not builders.
Li Shuwen was once a martial artist, so he doesn't know.
Artoria and Gawain are knights, so they don't know.
Emiya is a butler but knows nothing about architecture.
Tamamo is an Onmyouji, or due to her nature, doesn't know about building bases.
In conclusion, while making a war barracks might be possible, creating a temporary structure was nearly impossible except for Medea.
"But hiring manpower to build would make us conspicuous, and we can't emphasize that a third party is here, right?"
"This old man agrees. From the perspective of a third party, it's better to strike by surprise. Since it's called a Great Holy Grail War, there's no reason to fight at a disadvantage, right?"
"Hmm, Karna is not an easy opponent, so I agree too."
"Chirp? Does Benienma just need to protect the Master~?"
"Yeah, Benienma and Tamamo should stay with me."
It's a sparrow and fox combination, but the sparrow is stronger.
"I see~"
"The Rider and Caster should go meet the Ruler, right?"
"Hmm… I wonder if the overseer of the Great Holy Grail War will become our ally."
"Well, this must also be the Buddha's guidance!"
I agreed with Georgius's words, but from the start, it was highly likely Jeanne d'Arc would maintain neutrality.
"Until she recognizes it as an abnormal fight, she'll probably maintain neutrality. Well, I didn't expect much anyway, and from the meaning that a third party has appeared, I think even Jeanne d'Arc will be quite wary."
"That's true. But Master, what do you plan to do with the Holy Grail?"
"Hmm…. First, we need to find the Grails wandering around here and there and then think. Honestly, it's strange that there are too many Grails, but there are quite a few artificially made Grails too. They aren't as great as the original, but considering that Grails said to grant wishes have many drawbacks, they are such a nuisance that they should be remodeled into Grails dedicated to summoning Servants."
Georgius nodded and asked further.
"Master, you have no wish you want to ask of the Grail?"
"A wish… it's not a wish, but I only pray that it doesn't end in tragedy."
"More of a hope than a wish…. I understand. Finally, I want to ask, in that tragedy, is good and evil distinguished?"
I was flustered by the unexpected question, but I pondered for a moment.
"You can't label someone as inherently evil from birth, right? So I think even if someone walks the wrong path, there is a chance for repentance. People who fall into uncontrollable mental madness to an unbearable degree are exceptions, as they can't be handled, but that category is something for my acquaintances to solve, not me."
"Ah, I see. It would be good if one could repent, but the world doesn't work that easily. However, I can roughly grasp Master's disposition. If this journey lengthens, I'll get to know Master more. For now, I will stay by Master's side."
Well, the plan changed, but it was fine.
"Okay. I'm counting on everyone."
As the Master, I was ready to head to the battlefield to retrieve the Holy Grail, but.
"Hey, can I go out first? I'm so itchy I can't stand it."
I thought the reason that guy Cú Chulainn couldn't escape being Lancer (probably) was because of his battle maniac nature.