In the pre-dawn hours, when everyone else was asleep.
A sturdy man and a slender young woman, both in the same form they had when they were born, sweat pouring down their bodies as they laid bare their inner selves more honestly than ever before, exchanging beautiful emotions...
...as if there could be!
There was no such melodramatic, embarrassing nonsense here.
I had neither the intention nor the skill to show anything like that.
And, as some motionless genius manga artist once said, there was no reality here either.
All that existed was one scar-covered young Magus who looked like a ragged corpse with all his strength drained away, and one pitiful young woman who agonized alone every day over her unrequited love for the goddess.
In short, this body was currently undergoing emergency treatment.
And it was almost finished, too.
Along with that, I offer my endless condolences to our Naza, who had to keep working at this late hour without even being able to sleep.
"All right, that's done. You recovered pretty well, all things considered. Your regeneration is as amazing as ever, no matter when I see it. The pain should be mostly gone by now."
"Hmm, I do feel a lot better. Thanks, Naza."
"Don't mention it. It's a contract I already got paid in advance for. Business has to be done properly."
After finishing the treatment, Naza quietly tidied up as usual and, as if it were nothing, offered me some advice.
"Still, keep this in mind. Your body was already a mess, and you pushed it even further before forcibly stitching it back together. That's what you're like now. Honestly, I can't even guess how much life this body has left in it anymore. Maybe once it's recovered a bit, I'd know. But right now, I can't predict a thing. If it's really bad, you might not even wake up tomorrow morning."
Or maybe that was even more direct than usual.
Maybe it meant I'd overdone it that much this time.
"You're scaring me too much. In other words, you're just saying I should stop abusing my poor body for no reason and be as careful as possible, right? Isn't that it?"
But if I were to judge myself honestly, this body was clearly the type to be stubborn and contrary for no good reason, so I took her sincere warning lightly and brushed it off with a joke.
At my flippant reaction, Naza let out a deep sigh, as if she'd already expected it.
"I'm saying this because I know someone right in front of me who already lives that way. If Amid, that stubborn idiot, were in my place right now, you'd be tied up in the bedroom, locked in, and watched around the clock. So if you can, at least take it to heart."
"Thanks for the advice. I'll keep it in mind as much as I can."
"Yeah, right."
After finishing my treatment and her usual lecture, Naza said grumpily that she was going to bed now and went back inside.
After seeing her off, I was left alone again. I checked my body by moving it here and there once more, then left the shop.
I hadn't made any separate appointment.
But I had already confirmed it by sensing his presence.
There was already one early visitor outside, sitting in place and looking up at the moon in the night sky.
"Yo."
"Ah, Magus. Are you finished with your treatment?"
"More or less."
It was Bell, of course.
"So, can't sleep? You must be just as tired as anyone after today."
"Well, somehow... hehe."
"Hmm."
At the boy's weak, awkward laugh, I sat down beside him without the slightest hesitation and looked up at the night sky as well.
From the atmosphere of it, it seemed like he had been waiting for me.
He must have something he wanted to say.
"If you're going to say it, then say it already."
"Huh? Say what?"
"What you want to say to me now. Surely you're not so clueless you can't tell that much?"
Even with my urging, Bell kept his mouth shut for a while and said nothing.
The awkward silence between two men was excruciating.
If only there had been a glass of water between us, would it have been a little less awkward?
But it wasn't like I could go back inside the shop to get one now.
"Um..."
"Yeah?"
Fortunately, that unbearable silence didn't last very long.
The one who spoke first was, naturally, Bell Cranel, who had come looking for me.
The white-haired boy hesitated for a moment, then opened his mouth and continued the story he had been holding in his heart.
Just as I was about to make a wild guess at what it might be, he spoke again.
"Actually, when I lost consciousness today... I met Caster there."
Andersen, the one who looked just like the Magus from his younger days.
I froze, my thoughts stopping completely, with a rather shocked expression.
My face now was probably more honest than usual, too.
It was a true surprise attack from Bell.
"He told me to pass along a message. He said, 'Play around in moderation.'"
"...He left out 'idiot' and 'fool' at the end."
"He said both."
"I see... I thought so."
At Bell's message, I couldn't say anything for a while.
I couldn't do anything.
I just sat there quietly.
Quietly... recalling the old memories and the old days that still remained, and reflecting on them once more.
Andersen, my Caster.
My sharp-tongued companion, my fairy-tale writer.
My last understanding, and... my old bond that I could never see again.
My one and only partner.
"I see... So that's how it was..."
Thanks to that, I immediately understood what had happened to Bell Cranel today.
The boy beside me must have truly gone into his inner world and come back.
Just like that orange-haired strawberry-headed protagonist from Bleach.
He had fought and defeated another version of himself there, and grown because of it.
And across both the old world and this one.
There was only one person who knew that kind of story and could actually do something similar in reality.
No one but that foul-mouthed fairy-tale writer.
"Anything else... did he say anything else?"
"Not really... He said he was nothing more than a fragment of a lingering thought. So don't worry about the things he lent you and just take care of yourself properly, or something like that?"
"Hah, what an indifferent bastard. He really does go all the way to the end with that attitude..."
"Ah! And he also said that if possible, I shouldn't keep playing around gloomily by myself, and that I should cut back on causing trouble. He said if it came to it, I should even go out and find romance or something..."
"Says the guy who died a virgin!"
I'm not not doing it!
I'm not incapable of doing it either!
It's just... it's just that the time of destiny hasn't come yet, that's all, alllll right!
"Cgh, that damn shota bastard... seriously, he just keeps tormenting my mental state right to the end..."
In the end, I covered my face with both hands and couldn't say another word for a long while.
Bell, perhaps understanding how I felt, said nothing as well.
He simply kept the silence of this moment with me.
As expected, he really was a rabbit overflowing with pointless consideration, just like he looked.
After all, no matter the era, the trend is always the bad boy.
But it was because he was like this that he could save our Lili, too.
And Lady Hestia... well, never mind.
Talking about age here would really be cheating.
Honestly, in the end, whether it was inner character or ability or whatever else, in reality the number one factor is always appearance.
The order of all things in this world starts there first.
A sad story.
"So, in the end, you found out too? This Magus's secret..."
This feels like the kind of moment that needs a dramatic sound effect like gogo-go-go-go.
...But enough nonsense.
"Yes. The Holy Grail War, the heroes, and... even the Magus's previous life."
"Yeah. I see."
I spent a moment reminiscing about the old days.
Those dangerous days.
Those thrilling days.
Those exhilarating days.
To ordinary eyes, the Holy Grail War would be nothing but a tragic disaster.
But at least for me, it was a precious memory of the past.
It was the very embodiment of a nostalgia and joy I never wanted to forget.
"Well, your previous life doesn't really matter. This world's system is basically one where the gods collect souls, and those souls, after the cycle of reincarnation, are born again in the lower world as new lives. So it probably isn't that shocking to you either, right? Though it is surprising."
"Yes, well... that's true."
"Under that assumption, let me ask you something."
I could feel Bell's tension at my serious tone.
Why?
I wasn't angry or anything.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
"How was it?"
"Uh... huh? What do you mean...?"
"What else? The Holy Grail War, of course."
"Ah."
Maybe the boy didn't know.
How much I had wanted to talk about this kind of thing.
How badly I had been craving a conversation partner like that.
Thanks to him, I felt my mouth itching for a long-awaited conversation.
Mm, this ticklish, excited feeling.
It had been a full 31 years.
The long years of hiding my interests and staying silent... I was sick of them.
Thank you, Caster!
It was time to return to being the Magus who was a total romance nerd.
Not that I'd ever really stopped being one.
"It took about ten days, I think? Caster and I—our Holy Grail War. You heard about it from him too, right? So? Was it worth hearing about?"
"...Yes! Very much so!"
"Is that so."
After that, the two of us talked through the night about the Holy Grail War I had experienced.
About the adventures Caster and I had gone through.
About the many heroes I had seen there.
And about the stories they carried with them.
I was able, for the first time in a very long while, to return to those days with a genuine smile.
Back to the me of those innocent, immature, childish days.