"Ha~am..."
Maybe because I slept in a dream, I'm tired... Morning begins in the motel room we secured as lodging. Though I don't know why I came to the Fourth Holy Grail War through a dream in the first place...
The Fourth Holy Grail War, in a word, can be called a war with no dreams or hope. But, why did I end up coming here? It's different from Accel Order. In Accel Order, the final boss was definitely Angra Mainyu in Justizia's form. The black grail outfit I often use was the mastermind.
But, why was I summoned here?
"Uuuun~ Master, what are you thinking so deeply about from the morning...?"
"It's nothing, Artoria. Just wondering why I came here... you know?"
"You're thinking about such things? Rather than that, I wish you'd think about me."
"I'm always thinking about you, though?"
"R, really...? What, why are you so bold today of all days...?"
I just said it without much thought, and it's true I think about her. I wonder what she'll say she wants to eat today~
"How noisy from the morning. You're probably thinking about what you'll eat anyway. Don't trouble my husband too much."
And looking at the bed, she was waking up. Strange, she was definitely Tonelico until I slept...
"Is there a problem? My husband. It's me... Could it be, you prefer my younger self?"
"Wouldn't that sound strange? I don't particularly care about that. No matter what form, you're my Tonelico (savior), right?"
"... Is that so. That makes me happy."
"A Morgan who speaks well, how unpleasant..."
"I learned how to communicate properly from Lady Izo. Why don't you learn too?"
Though she's usually pitiful, to have learned from Izo, the sage of communication... Is the frustrating Morgan from the Karna era gone now...! That's a relief, now there won't be misunderstandings within the family or with those around us.
You guys always lack words! You can do it too, the art of speaking honestly like Izo!
Anyway, I slept and woke up to find she became Morgan, practically like a third ascension. To begin with, they're the same person, is it a case like Bunyan transforming into Super Bunyan? I still don't properly understand this system.
No, to begin with, I haven't really looked into the system much until now. Given the chance, I should research it when I have time.
"Hey, you're too noisy from the morning..."
Illya also woke up rubbing her eyes, and after a light tidy-up, we decided to go out for a meal. We decided to have a simple breakfast at a family restaurant. A Japanese family restaurant, my first time. I'd only seen them in anime or manga.
Of course, Caster of Fuyuki, who boldly orders multiple menu items at once from the morning, was a bonus. Morgan eats simply, and Illya also ends with just ordering one hamburg steak. I also ended up ordering just one main and one side.
Caster's appetite is still impressive.
"..."
Morgan stared at me, then soon after picked up some side food with a fork and pushed it toward me.
"Ah, aah~"
I accepted and ate the food Morgan gave me, and she smiled contentedly. Hmm, I feel this is a different charm from Tonelico. This side feels even cuter.
"Eht... H-here, Master~? Aaah~!"
"Aah..."
Caster feeds me a large piece of sliced steak. A bit big, but tasty.
"A harem, Master."
"Don't tease me, Illya..."
I'm 18 years old, practically an adult. So Illya grins and teases me. Her bond level is 8. I didn't bring her often in reruns, but I used her frequently when clearing the story. Since she has good compatibility with Caster... and she's a Servant who's been out for quite a while. Even if not 10, I think I'd reach around 8 normally.
After finishing the meal, the place we headed to was...
"Is this the place?"
An old-looking mansion. The reason for coming here is... for a Fate fan, not coming would be worse, right?
Creeeak...
Opening the old, rusty iron gate, we pass through the yard and stand before the house door.
"FBI Open Up!"
I immediately kick the door, and when it doesn't break, Morgan destroys it with magecraft. So an ordinary person's kicking power can't break it...!
We enter the house like that.
"Not a bad house. Of course, it's insufficient as a nest for my husband and me."
"What kind of evaluation is that, Morgan. To begin with, a nest for just the two of us, do you want to get beaten by Mash?"
"Even if that were the case... I won't give up."
"Even though you lost in the Fairy Kingdom~"
The two still bicker. Illya seemed to accept it and didn't pay any mind.
We walk further inside the house...
Squirm...
Something is visible on the floor. This is...
"Bu────"
"Calm down Morgan... I command with a Command Spell, calm down...!"
"Bu, bugs...?"
No, it's impossible...!
Kwaaaaaaaaaang!!!!
"An explosion ending, how terrible~!"
"Hearing this in real life."
I'm hearing Illya's explosion ending line in real life for the first time. To hear this from the person herself.
"Ah... damn it."
The Matou mansion flew away entirely...
"Ah, no...! Sakura-chan got blown up...!"
"She's not dead."
As if it were nothing, Illya's original red eyes glowed blue, piercing through the mansion's interior with her spirit eyes.
"Ahem, I know about explosions, and Morgan's explosion is terrible! A reckless explosion without any thought, with this much power, the entire mansion shouldn't have flown away! Look over there, there's an unharmed part, right? I sensed someone is over there!"
"Truly the Fairy Kingdom terrorist."
"Who are you calling a terrorist!"
Well, she's an explosives expert.
Anyway, shall we go inside and try to save Sakura?
"Isn't it underground over there?"
The basement... Oh.
First, we all head down underground. For some reason, I have a bad feeling.
"I sense some strange magical energy."
Morgan, who has calmed down, deploys formulas and senses... Ah, I saw Sakura hiding in the corner. Meanwhile, Kariya is lying face down on the floor. Where's Zouken?
"Calm down Morg──"
"Kyaaaaaaaaaaak!!!!"
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!!!!
"Did I perhaps summon Zhen Gong instead of Tonelico!?"
"Explosion ending combo~"
"Morgan, control yourself!"
Even Caster raised her voice at the ridiculous double explosion ending. Damn, we're all going to die!!!
"Haa... haa... I tracked and completely crushed all sources of bugs... so now, there shouldn't be any..."
Did she kill Zouken in the process? As expected of Morgan. But panicking over bugs is still a problem.
Are the others safe...?
Heading toward the inside of the destroyed basement... Inside, I could see Kariya and Sakura collapsed. But...
"This is a corpse..."
Matou Kariya was already cold and stiff. Had he already died because of Zouken...? Because he lost Berserker?
"..."
"Master. You're not feeling guilty, are you?"
"Ethically, I probably should. But how should I say it... Somehow, I feel nothing."
"Let's call it a buff effect. Master is loved by many, right? No one wants to see Master feeling guilty, sad, or suffering. Of course, I don't know about masochists like Lady Brynhildr."
"Is that so..."
Originally, he was fated to die. Even so... it's bittersweet. Though twisted, he was the only sane person in the Matou family. Behind him was Sakura, who appeared to have fainted. Who should I entrust this child to... Sending her to the Tohsaka's is a bit...
Leaving aside sending her to the Edelfelts, the child would have to feel the pain of being abandoned again. That bastard Tokiomi. In the Heaven's Feel route, he's practically the root of all evil. If you hadn't sent her to the Matou in the first place, the Heaven's Feel route wouldn't have happened, you bastard. There's a limit to being incompetent, a family head class who sends her off without even looking into Zouken.
Why does he feel like a typical villainous noble from another world...
"Let's take her with us for now."
We can't leave her like this, so we decide to take Sakura.
"Illya, what do you think we should do?"
"Hmm. Taking her to Chaldea?"
"Eh... that's a bit..."
"Since she became an orphan because of Master, how about taking responsibility?"
"That's no joke in terms of weight..."
"There are plenty of people in Chaldea who would treasure Sakura, right? Well, she's not in that Chaldea, so we'd have to summon her."
"... Should I really take her? No, is it okay to take her?"
"It's possible, my husband. Since she ended up like this because of me, let me use some power. I analyzed Chaldea's Rayshift from the Fairy Kingdom incident long ago."
It's possible... Then, should I take her? Really, the more I think about it, the angrier I get.
Mother rabbit, you're actually the most unforgivable trash in Zero.
We return to the lodging with Sakura for now. Tonight... I should go raid the Tohsaka mansion.
"Well... Though I thought of it, it's truly a devilish idea. What do you think?"
"Hmm... Still, compared to those who come looking ugly and cause trouble like certain people, you must have called me because I'm reliable, right?"
"No, well... It's just because of Sakura's matter that I called you."
"Eeh..."
"But it's good that you waited patiently like a good child."
"Hmph, right? Different from some ungrateful bodhisattva, right? Like this, Master himself! Needed my power and earnestly requested to summon me. The treatment is different, the consideration~? Anyway... I just need to take revenge for that child, right? That's easy. Humans are easy."
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