Chapter 12 The speed is 60 miles per hour!
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"You... can you ride more steadily?" Waver groaned, feeling like his brain had been scrambled. Exhausted, he clung to Alexander's shoulders, struggling to keep himself from toppling off the warhorse.
"Ah, next time, definitely next time!" Alexander replied cheerfully, without the slightest hint of concern.
Waver's eyes widened in disbelief, his face paling. "There's going to be a next time?!"
As he was about to retch from the bumpy ride, something caught his attention. Across from them stood a Servant—and to his surprise, she was wearing almost identical clothing to Alexander's.
From the beginning, Waver had wanted to complain about his Servants. First, he summoned a British man in a suit puffing on cigars who claimed to be Kongming. And now, here was another Servant dressed like his Rider, complete with an ancient Greek miniskirt.
This bizarre coincidence made him start to doubt everything about the Holy Grail War. Were all the Servants being summoned with some kind of standardized wardrobe? Men in suits? Women and boys in Greek tunics? Although the thought was ridiculous, the current situation almost made it seem plausible.
Waver sighed deeply, his regrets piling up. If he could turn back time, he never would have accepted the Grail War package from his homeroom teacher. To make matters worse, he'd even borrowed money from classmates just to afford the trip to Fuyuki. Now, stuck in this absurd scenario, his only solace was that at least he hadn't fainted yet.
"You... you are…"
The scarlet-clad Servant stared at Alexander, her face a mixture of shock and disbelief.
Initially, she wasn't certain, but as she observed him more closely, she recognized the unmistakable aura surrounding the boy before her. His attire, so similar to hers, and the legendary horse, Bucephalus—it all pointed to one irrefutable conclusion.
This young boy was Alexander the Great.
Even though she had never seen Alexander as a child, Hephaestion, Alexander's most trusted companion, could feel the truth. No one understood Alexander better than her—this was undoubtedly her king.
Her name was Hephaestion, and she had been by Alexander's side through triumphs and trials alike. If there was anyone who knew Alexander more intimately, it would be a deity. But… despite the gravity of this encounter, one thought popped into her mind:
He's… kind of cute.
"Ah, sorry, sorry, I've been ignoring you," Alexander said, turning his attention to Hephaestion after finally calming Waver down. Smiling, he addressed her confidently. "Were you asking my name just now?"
Before she could respond, Alexander stood tall on Bucephalus, drawing his sword with a dramatic flourish.
"Listen carefully! I am the son of Zeus, the mighty Ma—!"
Before he could finish his proclamation, Waver shot up in a panic, rushing to cover Alexander's mouth with both hands. "You idiot! Why are you revealing your identity?!"
Alexander turned his head, his expression puzzled, and easily pried Waver's hands away. "What's wrong with stating my name? In war, isn't it honorable to proclaim your identity and gain glory?"
Waver nearly screamed in frustration, tugging at his hair as if that might relieve his stress. "This isn't some heroic contest! This is a war! If you go around announcing who you are, you're just putting a target on your back for all the other Servants!"
Alexander tilted his head, clearly confused. To him, Waver's panic seemed completely unwarranted, even baffling. Why wouldn't someone announce their name with pride in battle?
When Alexander heard Kongming mention that his Master would accompany him on the expedition, he was thrilled at the prospect of such a bold Master. However, as things unfolded, it seemed that his Master was not just brave but also a bit overly cautious.
"Do you think you're a samurai from the Japanese Warring States period? Introducing yourself on the battlefield like it's some sort of honor duel?" Waver exclaimed, exasperated, burying his face in his hands.
At this point, Waver felt like his Servants were driving him insane. First, Alexander suddenly decided to charge off to fight, then Kongming, with his sly antics, lied about wanting to join the battle, only to throw himself out the window.
And now? The most ridiculous part was that, just as the battle was about to begin, Alexander was ready to proudly reveal his real name to the opponent.
What did I summon? Waver thought bitterly. With Servants like these, who needs enemies?
Alexander, noticing Waver's frustration, shrugged with a sheepish grin. "You've seen it yourself. My Master doesn't want me revealing my real name, so I suppose we'll have to fight without formal introductions. A real shame."
He spoke as he swung himself off Bucephalus with one fluid motion, landing steadily on the ground ten meters in front of Hephaestion. Sword in hand, Alexander assumed a fighting stance.
"By the way, your attire is almost identical to mine," he remarked, his curiosity piqued. "Could it be that you're a Greek hero too?"
"I suppose so," Hephaestion replied, though her voice carried a hint of hesitation. She shifted into a defensive stance, but her movements were reluctant. Deep down, a storm of emotions brewed within her.
Do I really want to fight my monarch? she thought, her grip on her weapon tightening. Isn't that an act of great disrespect?
Her current Master had sent her to intercept Alexander, annoyed by the Rider's audacious displays of bravado. The reasoning? "Someone's acting even more arrogantly than me, so go teach them a lesson!"
If she refused, her Master would almost certainly resort to Command Seals to force her hand. After all, her Master's entire strategy revolved around provoking enemies into revealing themselves, an absurdly reckless plan that made Hephaestion's scalp tingle.
But the man standing before her wasn't just any opponent—he was Alexander the Great, the ruler she had loyally served in life and the person she admired most. Could she really bring herself to fight him?
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Meanwhile, elsewhere...
"Oh my god… so fast! What kind of speed is this?!" Elric Bradley clung desperately to Tom, his eyes wide with disbelief. The blur of their surroundings and the sheer sensation of speed made him question whether he even had any weight.
Looking down, he noticed something even more absurd—at some point, Tom had strapped on a pair of roller skates. Not just any skates, either. These had rocket boosters attached to the back, spewing energy as if defying every known law of physics.
Elric gawked at the setup. How does this even work? There's no visible energy source! This thing violates the conservation of mass outright!
Tom, however, seemed entirely unbothered by such trivialities. Wearing the rocket-powered skates, he zipped down the winding mountain road at breakneck speed, effortlessly carrying Elric.
If Elric's eyes weren't deceiving him, they were hurtling along at least 60 miles per hour. Yet, even on sharp turns, Tom didn't so much as slow down. It was as if inertia itself bowed to him, allowing him to maintain impossible control at full speed.
The sensation of tearing through the twists and turns of the mountain road left Elric's legs trembling. His voice quivered as he stammered, "W-what a fast… what a fast ride!"