For two days, the large airship became an enigma to Chaldea. They wondered who would have built that—if it was the result of a Servant's Noble Phantasm or a masterpiece of a magi organization.
"Haven't you been attempting contact with my airship? You must also be curious about the huge disturbance from yesterday. I believe I could answer them all."
"...Was it you?"
It was Romani who spoke up from behind.
"Why, yes. I was involved with defending against the incinerating light, Romani-san."
"..."
The other three Chaldeans went silent. They kept thinking of the possible actions as well as the power that the man in front of them holds.
"If it serves to convince everyone, the light from yesterday was King Solomon attempting to destroy this world. We fended it off at that time."
"..!"
Hearing his words, their evaluation of the man rapidly rose. Someone who could directly confront "Solomon" is extremely strong.
"Lastly, I owe an explanation… to Miss Mash, that is."
"Explanation..?"
The purple-haired girl asked in a murmur.
"You may call me Sirius or Akasaka Nobu, but in the past, I used to be a knight of the Round Table." He said before continuing, "The identity of the heroic spirit within you… it's another version of myself."
Out of everyone, the one who seemed the most composed is none other than Romani.
"It seems like… you really are him…"
*****
Chaldea…
If I were to be asked, they are an organization carrying a huge burden. The duty to save their world is a heavy one, more so when there are a lack of high-end powers.
In my world, there were still eight people who stood on the peak. They held the most dangerous threats while the rest handled the weaker ones. Chaldea, however, is facing something at a higher scale.
King Solomon.
I saw the strength and potential of their Heroic Spirits. There are some that could directly rival the strongest of Gekai, my world even, yet they couldn't defeat Solomon.
Hence, I decided to lend them a hand whenever it allows me.
'Since it could seem suspicious… I'll just do this.'
"Let's make our meeting place more comfortable."
Snap-!
I snapped my fingers.
A moment later, the [Dreamer] ability took effect. There aren't any signs of magic circles before reality was overridden by my 'dreams'. Soon, the surroundings were changed into a familiar lounge—Hephaestus Familia's home.
"Noble Phantasm..?"
"No, it isn't one." Davinci-san responded to Ritsuka-san's query. "It is a form of visual and projection magecraft… but far more complex than that."
Having said that, she looked at me with growing curiosity.
"Please, take a seat." I said. "Romani-san too."
"...Alright."
Chaldea's acting direction heaved a sigh as our eyes met.
As expected, Romani-san is hiding something. No matter how hard he hides it, the brief surprise he had was caught by my eyes. That was how everything went when I opened six thought partitions.
"Feel free to ask me questions. If you aren't comfortable with it, there's no need to worry. I myself have several questions for everyone."
Once more, Romani-san took the lead.
"Can you give a more detailed account of yesterday's events?"
"A detailed account… that's simple. I restored this Singularity with the help of others. I reversed the alterations of Solomon's corrupted Holy Grail. But then, it seems he got furious about it and sent the light of incineration onto us."
I began telling a short account of the battle from yesterday. I omitted some very crucial details, though.
During our meeting in the tenth iteration, there was a Servant—Sherlock Holmes—who pointed out Romani Archiman as the most suspicious person in Chaldea. That included how he acted as an assistant of the former direction yet his records are all confidential. There's also a fact that one of their high-ranking officers betrayed them and caused significant damage to Chaldea.
Add to that my discovery today, it seems like he is hiding something.
"Uhm… Can I ask something?"
This time, it was Miss Mash who acted.
"Yes, go on."
"That… You said you owe an explanation…"
"Indeed. As I have mentioned before, your power belongs to a heroic spirit, who is another version of myself. The one within you is none other than Sir Galahad, one of the thirteen Knights of the Round Table."
""..!""
"The true name of your Noble Phantasm is 'Lord Camelot'. You should also have the Around Round Shield as well as the Sword of Strange Hangings with you. These should prove useful in your adventures."
Everyone went silent after this revelation. It was broken by Davinci-san's strong curiosity.
"Galahad?! Did you really see the Holy Grail and talked with God?!"
"The Holy Grail… Yes, I have indeed seen it. As for the other one, it could be considered as such. Davinci-san should be familiar with Kabbalah. God couldn't be directly perceived due to his transcendental state, thus it is more of a mixture of signs, symbols, and languages that I perceived. Nevertheless, it did come from Him."
During my explanation, I saw yet another peculiarity at Romani-san. It was… melancholy?
"Anyways, I am speaking on behalf of the other Galahad. Don't take his actions as bad. He only wanted to see whether you're worthy of inheriting his power. That was how rigid he… I was."
"No, no! I am grateful to him! I wouldn't have lived if not for him!"
Seeing this, a smile crept up to my face. Somehow, she's giving the vibes of a younger sister.
I thought about my little brother back in my home world.
'I have a lot of explaining to do…'
Back then, I chose to settle everything about my past life. This resulted in the current events—meeting Gareth, father, my King, and everyone else.
Fortunately, there are Artemis and Hephaestus who could communicate with me, albeit vaguely. I could imagine how they could pass the message that I am alright to Kazamitsu-san.
For a moment, the direction of my thought process went in an unexpected way.
'Wait a moment… He did wear a maid outfit at that time…'
It was the Bunkasai (Culture Festival) when I visited him. For some reason, I arrived at their maid booth with him wearing a maid outfit. He didn't even need much arrangement for everyone to mistake him as a girl.
Of course, I did what a good brother would do. I took photos to commemorate that day, which turned into another trauma of his.
I snapped back to reality.
The questions kept coming until it was my turn to ask some. Much to their surprise, they didn't ask much depth about Chaldea, mainly their experiences as well as some information regarding Solomon.
When it was time to leave, however, I asked for a favor.
"Can I talk with Romani-san alone?"
The rest looked at Romani-san's projection before they saw him nod.
"I am the safest out of everyone. Also, if Akasaka-san wanted to deal with us, he could've done so a while ago."
After their conversation, I 'ejected' everyone out of this dreamscape.
"So… what do you want to talk about?" He asked.
"Solomon… How are you related to him?"
"..."
At this moment, he unveiled his true reactions. He didn't bother hiding them as compared to before.
"...He was once summoned during the Fourth Holy Grail War by the former director. With his strength, they were able to win the grail and have their wishes granted upon them. It is primarily the reason why Chaldea exists now."
"...Then why is he seeking to destroy humanity?"
"Because he isn't Solomon in the first place."
…
I see.
King Solomon is someone who received revelations from God, much like me. It became confusing when he sought to destroy the very beings he once protected. I did think of the possibility that it wasn't King Solomon.
"How would you explain the fact that he possessed those Noble Phantasms? I believe you are aware of his Temple and the Ring of Light. That was something only for Heroic Spirits, no?"
"...There is something that inhabited his remains. That entity is currently controlling his body to accomplish his goals."
An entity residing on the corpse of King Solomon?
Now, things took a drastic turn.
If Romani is telling the truth, which I am more certain he did, it poses many problems.
For once, I wouldn't be able to expect his sympathy towards humans.
While I was thinking, Romani-san began removing his gloves. It was merely a type of projection magecraft, yet it couldn't stop the remnants of information that it emitted.
What was revealed is a golden ring. Instantly, it overlapped with the nine rings that Solomon wore on that throne.
Could it be—!
"Solomon..?"
Romani-san… no, Solomon made a wry smile.
"You really react fast, Sir Galahad. It would've been a matter of time before you found everything out by yourself."
"...It isn't wrong."
I have the grail's future vision as well as the miracles it could create.
"That's right. I am Solomon. Much like you, I wished for the grail to live as a human."
"..."
His words reminded me of my past. Galahad was inhuman all his life, which led him to pursue a better life. It manifested through me—Nobu.
To think King Solomon is also like that…
"However, that left a huge problem. As you can see, the autonomous guardian I created before my death, Goetia, wanted to annihilate humanity."
"Ars Goetia… So that's why."
Through [Ein Sof], I was able to connect to 'every living being'. It is more of receiving data from the other end. I was able to find Goetia's hiding place due to that.
Unfortunately, Goetia is not considered a 'living being' but a form of magecraft. It is a program set to protect humanity, only for it to betray Solomon's prior wish.
Everything started making sense.
"I trust you wouldn't harm humanity, Sir Galahad."
"Indeed. While I might not be able to focus on supporting this world, I would still lend a hand. I don't want to see my previous world… to perish."
Facing a man similar to me, I couldn't help but sympathize. Then again, he is already 'human' enough based on his current actions alone.
We didn't run out of topics to talk with. Romani-san is someone hailed as the King of Magecraft. His knowledge is even greater than mine. He knows a broad spectrum about magic and the likes. It is unfortunate we couldn't talk like this during 'combat encounters'.
"You're already going back to your world, right?"
"Yeah. After we pay a visit to the Clocktower, I am planning to do as such." I replied to Romani-san.
"What about your King?"
"With the FATE System you talked about… I might be able to put something up within a day."
While my King could sustain every Heroic Spirit through her Rhongomyniad, I would like to create some sort of backup to tie their so-called Saint Graphs. The FATE System is a solution to that problem. It is one of Chaldea's System for summoning and anchoring Heroic Spirits.
"It's time to make my decision."
*****
Chaldea's meeting with Nobu went well—to the point Davinci and Ritsuka were surprised on how well it went. Chaldea gained a trustworthy ally, after all. A Magister like Nobu is extremely strong, more so with [Ein Sof] in his possession.
After that, the arrangements came next. Every heroic spirit decided to stay with Nobu, much to his surprise. With that, all that was left is to talk with the Clocktower Marshall.
Stepping into the Clocktower's bounded fields, Nobu felt the difference from the inside. The concentration of magical energy as well as mysteries are stronger than the outside's. The most important thing, however, is the 'corpse' of a dragon beneath this very land.
'It is…'
'Albion. It's Albion's corpse.'
Nobu was familiar with Albion's aura as he was there when they slayed it. King Vortigern, the leader of the Saxons, fought against their king, Artoria Pendragon. He was the personification of Albion which granted him abilities, including his transformation into Albion's physical form.
However, the real Albion died under this Earth. When the Age of Man arrived, he remained on the physical world, unlike the other dragons who went into the Reverse Side of the World. In the end, he died due to the unstoppable coming of a new era.
Nobu thought of the origin behind Lancelot's past but chose not to delve much into it. The reason why he chose an [Ally] and not a [Servant] is due to his personal preferences. His conviction doesn't allow him to treat them as such. Even Miku who calls him "goshujin-sama" is treated by him as an ally, not a tool.
As such, he turned the 'Command Seals' into pure energy instead, which is still being absorbed by the holy grail.
'Could you gain something?'
'I don't know. Perhaps.'
'Alright.'
Nobu took a glance at the medieval-style infrastructure before he set his sight at the top of the tower.
'There.'
He stuck his index and middle finger together before swiping down.
Bzzt-!
A space slit appeared. It contained the vast stars from the sky. It looked majestic as they glimmered every now and then.
Once the coordinates are locked, the other side turns into the same office that he saw from earlier. Nobu and Lancelot stepped on it before being greeted by a familiar middle-aged man.
"It seems you have made your choice?"
"About Goetia… I'll help. As for the strong opponents whom you mentioned, I should do the same. But, we have to change the clauses a bit."
"Go on."
"You'll also need to take action, Mister Schweinorg. The remaining Magicians in your world, too."
Upon dropping that statement, everything went still.
"...or perhaps, you couldn't do that? I see there are a total of five magicians in this world, at the very least."
"...As you have said, that would be quite hard."
"Mn."
Nobu simply nodded as he looked at the serious-looking magician.
"Only the two of us would be able to make a move. The seat for the First and Third True Magic was vacant while the holder of the Fourth was in a special circumstance."
"...I see. What about the enemies?"
Zelretch didn't choose to hide anything at this time.
"They are beasts who sought to end all life on Earth."
"A harbinger of the end… Really…" Nobu muttered. "It wasn't a natural phenomena, no?"
Nobu recalled the data he found through Atlas' Tri-Hermes. He knew that the 'Twilight Syndrome' didn't exist in this world.
"In the near future, humans will 'kill' the planet. It is exactly the one that 'called' them out here. Currently, only one such being exists. But, it remains to be unknown as to what this world's special status would cause."
"You can also see through other possibilities? Or were they parallel worlds?"
"The latter. I was able to communicate with my other selves through it."
"...Alright."
Nobu paused for a while as he thought about it.
'Mister Schweinorg remained honest… He must've wanted to save this world… or create the possibility where it is possible.'
Zelretch didn't hold back all this time. It was his first time encountering a being like Nobu, a magician from another world. That alone signifies a new possibility, what more one that could possibly show a 'good end'.
"When our world needs assistance…"
"It doesn't have to be said. I am aiming for a partner. Of course, we would help."
In the end…
Nobu offered a gesture for a handshake.