“The church members may not have worshiped the emperor as a god, but they were still citizens of the country. Do you truly believe that slaughtering them was the right thing to do?”
“We are Rome itself, and a god. If one is a subject of Rome, they must serve us. All who do not are traitors. There is no reason not to kill them.”
Johanna and Draco continued to fight.
They were having a verbal battle so intense that the other customers in the cafe began to leave, feeling the tension.
Just watching them was an ordeal.
The only thing sadder than being betrayed by someone you love is watching the people you love fight each other.
If you were to ask me if I loved Draco, I might tilt my head in uncertainty, but that doesn't mean I don't care for her.
From the moment she called herself my daughter, I couldn't help but be concerned.
She has a sad past. The image of a child yearning for the love she never received from her parents still lingers.
It‘s just that I lack the emotional capacity to look after her properly right now, but Draco has been a source of strength for me in my exhaustion.
At least, that‘s what I thought…
“This is pointless. Don't you people say it yourselves? Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's. Therefore, it is enough to offer everything to us. Do we not provide safety and bread in return?”
“God is the one and only. No human can take His place. Besides, the atrocities you committed cannot be explained away by that alone.”
I stood up.
Johanna and Draco stopped talking and looked up at me.
“Stop it.”
My head was spinning from a strange and unfamiliar sensation.
The sharp-edged voices, the chilly atmosphere that the cafe's jazz music couldn't erase.
The expressions that revealed their intentions, the gestures that pretended to be indifferent but were filled with meaning.
I didn't like any part of this situation.
No, I hated it.
“You came looking for me, which means you have something to say. You sat down at the same table, which means you have the will to talk.”
Ritsuka took a step back. She fled to the counter, saying she was going to return her drink tray.
The only ones left here were me, Johanna, and Draco.
“So why are you just tearing at each other and not saying a single important thing?”
The two of them avoided my gaze.
There were more than a few things I couldn't understand. Something was going wrong.
But what on earth was it?
Even I, who had just shouted that they needed to say something important, didn't know what that something was.
In the end, I couldn't reach any conclusion and just collapsed back into my seat.
“…Let‘s all just calm down.”
My gaze was fixed on the floor. I could feel two pairs of eyes staring at me.
That gaze was familiar, and therefore, terrifying.
It was the gaze of all those who had told me they loved me.
And the gaze of those women who had betrayed me was just like this.
Time that felt like an eternity passed.
“Would you… like some coffee?”
The steam rising from the hot coffee tickled my eyes.
Ritsuka offered me the coffee with a hesitant expression.
“…Thank you, Ritsuka.”
The surface of the coffee was still. Hoping the aroma of the high-quality beans would calm my heart, I slowly set the cup down.
“Why is Chaldea here?”
“Lupus. I came here to help you.”
“I‘d like to believe that. But right now, I‘m asking the Master, Miss Ritsuka.”
Ritsuka fidgeted with the armrest, her words trailing off.
When I, unable to bear the frustration, spoke to her again, she finally began to mumble.
“Aren't you here to restore the Singularity?”
“We are… but I don‘t know whether to say yes or no. Or no when it‘s yes…”
Tapping the tips of her index fingers together and avoiding my gaze, Ritsuka had the face of a child who had just broken a dish.
“You needed the Holy Grail, but now you don't need to find it anymore…?”
“Isn't Chaldea‘s objective to restore the Singularity? Since you‘ve come to Fuyuki City, I can only assume this place has already become a Singularity that transcends the Holy Grail War.”
“That‘s correct, Lupus.”
Johanna stared at me intently.
Her beautiful eyes were clear, without a single speck. The aura of a Pope that she naturally exuded felt like a vow to speak only the truth.
“But this Holy Grail War has been completely broken by Archer and Caster. In this situation, with our current forces, we can neither find the Grail nor defeat Archer or Caster.”
“…Then why did you come?”
“We didn't know when we first arrived. By the time we grasped the situation, we thought it was too late, but we found a way.”
A way. Johanna mimed holding and swinging an imaginary bat.
When I let out a small laugh, her face turned red.
Right. At least she can still joke like this.
“Ahem. While we were looking for you, the people at Chaldea found a Servant we could request cooperation from.”
“…I heard almost everyone has been eliminated.”
“They say there's a Saber who possesses the sacred sword of the lake. That camp hasn't been eliminated yet and is hiding in a stronghold in the forest. We're planning to pin our hopes on them. That's Chaldea's plan.”
Saber, huh. I feel like I‘ve seen them before.
It‘s hard to recall clearly, perhaps due to the effects of the hypnosis magic, but if Johanna says so, it must be true.
“That's why we need your help, Lupus.”
“…I‘m just a civilian with nothing.”
“The two Servants who have shattered the balance of this Holy Grail War, Archer and Caster, are both after you…”
I shot up reflexively. The table collided with my legs and shook violently.
Crash. The cup in front of me fell to the floor. My pants were soaked with coffee.
A searing heat spread across my skin. I felt a pain like being pierced by thorns.
Holy Grail War. Tonelico. Morgan. Gilgamesh. Rin. Rider. Waver…
A wave of dizziness washed over me.
“…It has nothing to do with me. I‘m… not involved with those two anymore.”
My hands were trembling.
“I‘m sorry, Lupus. I came too late, didn‘t I?”
Seeing Johanna‘s noticeably downcast expression, I felt fear.
No, I felt a revulsion for everything that existed here.
“Stop. Don't come any closer.”
Johanna froze in her tracks.
She had stopped approaching, but the pitying look on her face only intensified.
“You‘ve been hurt deeply, Lupus.”
“Don‘t talk as if you know everything. I‘ve lived much longer even after we parted. I've lived dozens of times longer than an ordinary person. The me you knew and the me now are different.”
“You are you, Lupus. In my eyes, I only see the same person.”
Even if my heart screamed, the words never made it past my lips.
I didn't feel like myself.
I couldn't accept Johanna's kindness as kindness.
I felt disgusted by the way she acted as if she knew everything about me.
That shouldn‘t be possible.
Johanna hadn't changed one bit. Even now, she was the same as she was back in that old church in Rome.
Even after becoming Pope, even in the moment of her death, Johanna was always the same.
I loved her, and she loved me.
That must have been true, so why am I feeling fear towards Johanna right now?
Slap.
I saw Johanna‘s slightly widened eyes.
She was covering her cheek with her hand, but because of her pale skin, the red mark was all the more visible.
What was she hit by? When I turned my head, I saw my own raised hand.
Anyone could see it and be certain.
I was the one who had pushed her away.
The moment I realized that, I could no longer stay in the cafe.
If not the cafe, then where should I go?
Even now, I am being watched by Gilgamesh and Morgan. If I escape their eyes, Chaldea will be watching me.
“I‘m fine, Lupus. I‘m sorry. For approaching you so suddenly. Just take a deep breath, and let‘s talk agai—”
“I can‘t.”
“…I can wait forever. But your heart won‘t heal by running away. You know that, don‘t you?”
I lifted my head.
“You probably know everything. Yes. You… no, all of you probably know me. You're special, unlike me. With your firm faith, your demigod talents, or even the magic of fairies…”
Is the person before my eyes the Johanna I loved?
Or is she a monster in human skin, one who could casually fold a person in half?
Bile began to rise in my throat.
“You all know me, but what I know of you is only a part. And I can‘t even understand that part. Do you get it?”
“I‘m listening, Lupus.”
“When I stand before you all, I feel like a naked pig.”
What can I do without the power of a Beast?
“I. I…”
I see a serious, slightly somber Johanna.
Next to her was Ritsuka. She was hiding the lower half of her face with the coffee tray.
And finally, Draco… I don‘t know.
My feet had already carried me out of the cafe.
I just ran.
Aimlessly, endlessly. I ran until I was out of breath.
I didn't even know the reason for the tears streaming down my face.
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