{Initiating in-depth dimensional scan…}
{With the current traces, several pieces of data have been found.}
Click.
Within the most advanced computer of today's era, the autonomous virtual lifeform began her job.
As early as one week ago, Miku did not dismiss the "afterimages" she saw. Through the quantum computer made of several kilograms of photon crystals, it was more than enough to rival Atlas Institutes' supercomputer, [Tri-Hermes].
One of the things brought by Nobu from the singularity is the theory regarding Pseudo-spirit particles. It is one of the most advanced systems of knowledge that he found, combining both the supernatural and technology in an indigenous way. It far exceeds the qualifications for space travel.
Tri-Hermes was more than enough to store the information of the "world", thus it isn't possible to go beyond it—to view information from "other worlds".
Within a week of intensive search, Miku was able to verify three things:
One, Fifteen parallel worlds stood out from the rest, maintaining a semi-permanent state.
Two, items belonging to parallel worlds cannot be brought to each other. It became evident when she tried to 'connect' to one of her selves within those parallel worlds.
Three, a set of mechanisms revolve around each parallel world, preventing them from having contact with each other.
Adding the systematic knowledge regarding [parallel worlds] researched by this world's magicians, she soon found a [loophole] within their mechanisms.
If she travels as a pure "virtual lifeform", she could send out the information on her side to other parallel worlds. It is akin to Miku sending a file across parallel worlds—entering a sync state before disappearing.
Since there are a few moments before her "file" disappears, it is more than enough for her to transmit what she wanted to do.
"{I should ask for goshujin-sama's permission first.}"
After several ringing sounds, the other side picked his phone up.
"Yes?"
*****
A one-day trip to Malaysia wasn't that hard to settle. Since I knew both Shiina-jii and Naoki-jii, we had the permission to go to Malaysia… in my own plane.
"We're already here?"
Bocchi-chan, who was preoccupied with managing her Youtube channel, jumped out of her seat.
"Wait, we're already on the beach?"
"Yes? We can drop by Kuala Lumpur later. It's not that far from here if we take the usual air route." I replied. "This entire island… it's our private property."
"...Is this the power of money? How many guitars could I have brought with it…"
A stunned Bocchi-chan sat as she counted the number of guitars in her fingers.
"Nobu-kun. You mentioned some acquaintances."
Mashiro, who was silent up until now, spoke.
"That's right. They are my… workmates. Although some of them might be odd, they can be trusted."
At the mention of "odd", Bocchi-chan's attention was immediately taken. She turned around and looked at the other introvert, Mashiro, before a slightly depressed look appeared in her face.
Imagining her internal monologues, I couldn't help but let out a chortle. The pink-haired introvert heard it and started muttering, "I'm doomed…"
"Well, I believe they're not that hard to talk to. You'll even see a semblance of Ichiji-san with one of them…"
"...Oh no."
Mashiro looked at all of this with a curious look. She couldn't understand everything, yet I could see that she wanted to learn more about it.
'I really need to help them out…'
Just then, the earpiece that I wore rang.
"Yes?"
"{I discovered a new finding, goshujin-sama. It is directly related to the concept of Hillbert Spaces.}"
"...parallel worlds."
These words made me think of my cursed technique.
In the first place, the holy grail merely 'restrained' my body from having cursed energy. However, it is a solid "rule" of this world, akin to the "Reality Marbles" from my previous home world. The protection of the grail towards 'external factors' such as 'cursed energy' can be disabled.
In my case, it was the overwhelming feeling of 'being tiny' when I saw endless worlds through his omniscience. My body's instinctive reaction was to evolve itself to be able to handle that overwhelming feeling.
That gave me the cursed technique to be able to manipulate quantum mechanics to my will. With that power, I interacted with another parallel version of Hitori.
It might seem coincidental, but one thing's for sure.
"Send me the details later. We'll deal with it."
I could already feel that my next "trip" is to a parallel world.
Sighing, I focused my attention on this small vacation first.
*****
It has been a few years since Nobu last went to the beach. That was still the time when he settled some work-related matters before being transported into another world.
The first thing that greeted him was not the bright rays of the sun nor the sound of waves but…
"You're finally here! We already built a sand castle when you are gone!"
At this moment, Gareth was wearing a white hoodie on top of her swimsuit. Something on her chest jiggled now and then, imposing some form of intimidation to the other two girls behind him.
Mashiro looked at her toes and couldn't see it completely, making her feel strangely relieved. As for Hitori…
'W-w-what am I thinking?!'
Her hidden confidence resolved that feeling.
"Oh? These are your friends, right?!" Gareth spoke. "You can call me Gareth, nice to meet you!"
After flashing a smile similar to her brothers', she invited the trio to their waiting place. It didn't take long for them to see the umbrellas prepared as well as the grill filled with food.
Strangely enough, two men took care of cooking. They moved in a flash as they perfectly coordinated with one another.
'Sir Gaheris and… Sir Lancelot.'
Nobu didn't shy away from the fact that Lancelot took on the role of the caretaker of the knights back then. He used to be the cook in-between their journeys. Meanwhile, Gaheris is familiar with taking care of his siblings as the oldest one. The same went for Sir Percival. They had the title of reliable older brothers for a reason.
Other than them, he noticed the old man in a Hawaiian shirt. Pellinore took the chance to gaze at the sea under the umbrellas while Bors is focused on the massive sand castle that he built with Gareth. Tristan accompanied Pellinore in laying down the foldable chair and looking at the sun.
Mordred and Gawain were seen eating watermelon as they stood at the shore.
Lastly…
"You took some time. It's been a while."
Their King was standing with a white umbrella. She is currently wearing a semi-transparent white dress on top of her swimsuit. Behind her, Agravain held the larger beach umbrella steadily.
Artoria's green pupils met Nobu's golden pupils. She immediately felt his changes, yet it was destined to be taken care of later.
"They should be your childhood friends. Greetings, ladies."
Artoria spoke to Mashiro and Hitori with a 'British Accent'. Although she spoke in Japanese just now, she utilized the orthographic arrangement and wordings of British English.
"H-hello."
"Greetings."
Hitori responded with a stutter while Mashiro greeted her back with her own 'British Accent'.
"Are you having fun?" Nobu asked her.
"Yes."
Surprisingly, the tip of her mouth curled up a little. She stared at him silently, implying several meanings altogether.
Nobu understood it as her kind of teasing.
"We'll be dressing first. There's also the activities I prepared beforehand for later."
Nobu might have inherited Lancelot's role as the group's caretaker.
*****
Their "small" vacation wasn't something they considered as grand. Since it only lasted one day, there weren't many activities ahead.
Then again, there are things that wouldn't disappear from a beach vacation.
Bam-!
For the second time, Mordred's wooden bat missed the watermelon.
"Where's the damned thing?! I knew something wrong would happen if it's him who placed it!"
"That's for fairness' sake."
Nobu was the one who placed the watermelon on the ground. Of course, he moved deftly and left no traces for the blindfolded Mordred to discover. The blindfold itself is special in a way that it blocks all perceptions, thus limiting the senses of the sharp knights.
Just as Mordred moved, Tristan moved away swiftly.
"Please be careful. I am born with sorrow, but being hit by your strike is even more so."
"Tsk..!"
'She's really aiming for him?!'
At first, Hitori was slightly overwhelmed with their first meeting. She didn't know why she agreed with Nobu—perhaps her way of challenging herself—but she caught herself in the dilemma of socializing with new people.
Fortunately, there was someone who helped her.
"Don't mind them. They're at it for quite some time now."
Gareth explained to her with a bit of helplessness. Out of them all, Mordred was annoyed by Tristan due to his 'poetic' way of speaking. It made her annoyed in several important battles where she asked him in a 'good' way.
In her words, "Why couldn't he go straight to the point?!"
Meanwhile, Mashiro was watching everything as she took a bite of her watermelon. She relished everything as if she was watching a comedy show.
The knights took turns in splitting watermelons until it was over. Only Artoria and Nobu didn't participate. After all, they are eating watermelons at an extremely fast pace.
Only when they are 'tired' of this game do they move to the next few games.
These games are all physical in nature, which led to the two girls to do what they do best.
Bzzt-!
The pocket amplifier rang out loud within the beach court. Hitori is responsible for the 'background music' of their games as she played on Nobu's spare guitar.
"The score ties! It is now 3-3. Are you going to get beaten, brother?!"
Hearing this, Gawain went into a serious state. Gaheris on the opposing team saw this and did the same. The two brothers are fighting for their pride, one as the "oldest" and the other as the "strongest".
"It became a clash between my two brothers!"
Gareth, who was commentating without any pause, rode along with the flow.
Hum-!
Bzzt-!
Not long ago, Hitori unveiled her weapons of destruction beneath her white jacket. The heat of the sun got into her, forcing her to reveal her hidden cards.
When Nobu saw it, some memories woke up within him, forcing him to conceal his fluster.
'We are like that… but…'
Shaking his head, he continued examining his surroundings. The overall vibe is far livelier than when they arrived here. Hitori was able to blend in with the help of Gareth while Mashiro's introvertedness didn't work in the face of the knights.
"You're the most talented painter I have ever met in my life. I reckon your pieces are more expensive than some of the old paintings I saw."
Pellinore became interested with Mashiro's painting of this current scene. He followed on her first sketch up until now.
"But… you might be lacking something." He hinted at her.
Mashiro was confused when she met Nobu's gaze. The latter sent a smile at her, causing her to pause for a moment.
As someone who lived with him, she saw him smile every day. However, Nobu's smile today looked a bit different.
"I see."
Although her paintings garnered attention worldwide, a feeling of it being incomplete bothered her. That missing something was seen by her in the most unexpected medium—manga—thus she wanted to fly to Japan to become a mangaka.
Emotions.
It turns out, she was missing something like that.
With renewed motivation, she reworked on her painting by adding more details to match their mood.
"You have found your joy, Galahad."
"Hm..?"
"Love was one of the things you lacked. You cannot fathom how we waited for you to fall in love. Now that you have fallen for innumerable—"
"Alright, that's it. We are friends." Nobu interrupted Tristan's monologue. "That's it."
"...For now? Certainly. However, the future knows no bounds. By then, let us attend as guests of your weddings."
"...Weddings..?"
A slight sound of clear laughter resounded from behind.
"From the looks of it, you are going down that route."
"..."
When Artoria joined in teasing him, Nobu was forced to employ his straight face. She then looked at Tristan who, with understanding, moved away from them.
Now, it is only the two of them.
"Back then… I never imagined to see everyone like this."
Apathy.
As a king, Artoria was as perfect as she could ever be. She didn't let her own emotions affect her decisions. When it comes to making crucial choices, she always made the most optimal choice for Camelot.
However, she lacked humanity—empathy. It resulted in her not being able to 'feel' what the others do. At least before she regained her Excalibur, this state was further worsened by her possession of Rhongomyniad.
"I might be the perfect king whom they describe as, but I failed as their friend."
"It's a contradiction. If your emotions bested you in the past, there might be some tragedies." Nobu replied. "Then again, if you understood them better as a human, Camelot might've had a different ending."
In the end, Nobu wanted to tell her not to regret anything.
"From your looks, you went somewhere without our knowledge, no?"
"...I went back to our world."
"What did you see?"
A moment of silence overcame them before Nobu replied.
"Everything. Every single ending a world could come into. I admit, it overwhelmed me. It is similar to going against the world itself. As one person, what could I do to fight against it?"
Omniscience had affected Nobu not only physically but also mentally. These changes were subtle at first. His awakening of his cursed technique was his instincts' way of becoming stronger, so as to better fight "against the world".
However, it was not enough.
When he fought against [Akhilleus Kosmos], a world engraved within a shield, he fought back with a world of his own. It made him realize one thing:
Only a world could fight another world.
However, it was wishful thinking for an entire world to wage war against another world. Its impact would be nothing any human being could've seen.
Thus…
"The answer I came to… is to become as strong as a world."
The completed Philosopher's Stone is a way to gain more power. If he really did merge it with the holy grail within him, not even he has an idea as to how absurdly strong he could be.
By then, he could resolve the crisis of a world's end with the least cost possible.
At this moment, Artoria could clearly see the burden placed in his shoulders.
Pat.
"You have done a great job, Galahad. However, as your past King, I would like to ask you to let us bear a part of your burden. Haven't we already agreed to help you when you brought us back?"
As the wielder of two Divine Constructs, Artoria has enough power to help him substantially.
'...Trust my allies… I was too absorbed with everything.'
He already realized it once, but now, his stance became far firmer than before.
'To save the world… I could entrust my back to others.'
*****
The fifteenth iteration.
"...The existence of parallel worlds is validated."
Reading the reports from the central computer, [Hermes], the mature young man in black coat took out a leather notebook beneath his desk.
"The method of integrating the three fragments… We were too impulsive before. If we had this back then…"
Until the "real" integration of the fragments, everything regarding the Philosopher's Stone is purely theoretical. With actual results to base into, the young man optimized their previous methods—be it due to his guilt or his powerlessness to make the sacrifice himself.
Now, the merging of the stones would be perfect with this method. Only, there isn't much use to it… until he was notified about the parallel worlds.
"If we can't use it, it doesn't mean that others can't, right? Nobu."
The current Tower Lord regained light in his eyes.