It is Said That Transmigrators Must Copy Something

Although the instrument was a beautiful guitar, when its strings were plucked, the sound that emerged was the melodious music of a piano.

As the ancient saying goes, the lingering notes were drawn out, faint yet unbroken. That peaceful and beautiful melody rose slowly in the war-torn courtyard, weaving a beautiful illusion.

Was the lingering melody a dream? King Arthur seemed to see his past self, after pulling the Sword of Selection, after that undefeated legend, after the sorrowful betrayal at Camlann; a maiden chasing a dream of an idyllic land, shouldering a nation yet unable to guide it, lost in her own perfect dream and neglecting those around her, ultimately leading to an eternally regrettable end—but was that dream, which hoped for everyone's happiness, wrong?

The King of Conquerors also heard it, the roar of Okeanos's tides that he had sought his entire life without ever touching. He had fought and conquered with his entire life, establishing an empire spanning several continents, yet he was never satisfied, never stopped, all because of that dream, that absurd dream of seeing the sea at the world's end. Descended upon the present world once more, he now knew the world was spherical and there was no end, but the fire in his chest still burned—Okeanos existed! Within that dream that encompassed heaven and earth!

King of Heroes saw the expressions of the other two kings and wanted to scoff at them, but he held back. He had heard this song before; Assassin called it "Wedding in a Dream"—Hmph, the sole king needs no wedding, no love! No one could stand on equal footing with him, except for that one—no, that was not a feeling that could be clearly expressed by superficial words like love or friendship. It was the King of Heroes's unique existence, unbound by any worldly concept! Although he himself could only briefly reunite with that person in dreams...

Irisviel saw the moments she had spent with Kiritsugu, meeting people outside the Einzbern family for the first time, hearing about the outside world for the first time, wanting to understand others for the first time, receiving love for the first time, embracing her daughter for the first time... For a mere tool created for the Holy Grail, all of this felt like a dream.

Weber seemed to recall his time studying at the Clock Tower. He had no deep bloodline inheritance, but he held grand ideals in his heart, hoping his name would leave a significant mark in the history of magecraft. To those stubborn traditionalists, it was likely just a laughable delusion.

Long after the song ended, the listeners slowly returned to their senses from their own thoughts, looking at Jizi with complex expressions.

She then bowed slightly, "I hope it pleased your ears."

"Alas," Rider let out a long sigh, "you were too humble when you said you would disgrace yourself. Come, you deserve this cup."

The red-haired giant took the wine gourd he had given to Jizi earlier and scooped a full cup. If the first cup was merely to go through the motions and test Jizi's attitude, this personally bestowed cup of wine represented his genuine recognition of Jizi to a certain extent. After all, having studied under Aristotle, Alexander the Great was influenced by him in his appreciation of art and highly esteemed music.

Saber said nothing more, likely still angry about Jizi taking Irisviel away, but even so, she raised her cup and gestured to Jizi.

"Too weak!" Archer was the only one to express dissatisfaction. "This is not the music befitting a king's gathering! Do you think we are holding a vulgar ball?"

"My sincerest apologies, Your Majesty, please forgive me." Jizi bowed and apologized with a seemingly terrified expression, but no one could tell what her expression was beneath the mask.

"If you know, then hurry up and change the song!"

Archer knew Jizi's act was entirely perfunctory, but he didn't mind, merely urging for the next song.

"Then please listen to a song befitting a king!"

Da-da-da-da-dum—five impactful, resonant notes fell, as if "Fate" were knocking at the door.

"Assassin, when will your so-called 'arrangements' take effect?"

Kirei Kotomine's question appeared directly in Jizi's consciousness through the contract connection.

"Please do not rush, Master. These Heroic Spirits who call themselves kings are in high spirits; it won't be over anytime soon." While replying to Kirei via conscious connection, Jizi didn't stop her hands, continuing to accompany the banquet.

"Besides, wouldn't it be beneficial for you to listen to the philosophies of kings? Perhaps you might discover some ideals worth pursuing."

Countered by Jizi, Kirei stopped speaking but maintained the open conscious connection, listening to the exchange between the kings along with Jizi.

"...First, let's talk about what wishes each of you has placed upon the Holy Grail," Rider said, taking another drink. "I'll start by casting a brick to attract jade—I,"

At this point, the hearty red-haired giant surprisingly showed an embarrassed expression. He ran his hand through his hair and hesitated for a moment before continuing:

"I wish to obtain a physical body and become human!"

"Ah?!" Everyone was shocked by the unexpected answer, and Jizi cooperatively lowered the volume of the music.

"Do you want to conquer this world again—Ouch!"

After flicking his Master, who was exclaiming in surprise, Rider stroked his wine cup and said in a calm tone, "We Servants do not exist in this world; we disappear once the Holy Grail War ends."

—The footsteps of "Fate" moved into a relatively relaxed section—

"I don't know what you all think, but I am not resigned to this..."

—As if strolling through a beautiful mountain stream valley—

"I want to gain a body and, as the foundation for my 'conquest'!"

—Dark clouds drifted from afar, and the gentle breeze gradually turned turbulent. "Fate" was accumulating power—

"To have a body, advance towards heaven and earth, and carry out my conquest—that is the way of my kingship. But I have no body now, and that is unacceptable."

—The storm arrived, accompanied by lightning and thunder, the destructive power of nature unleashed without restraint—

"I want to be reborn as a human and live again!"

—But fate will not yield! Whether it be heaven or earth, gods or men, no power can suppress its struggle!

Da-da-da-da-dum! The five heavy notes struck the hearts of all listeners along with the King of Conquerors' final declaration. In that instant, they seemed to feel the spirit that guided the lifelong warrior king.

"Ah ha ha ha ha!"

Just as everyone was immersed in Rider's imposing speech, a discordant sound rang out—it was Archer's arrogant laughter.

"I've decided, Rider, I will kill you. You are worthy of being judged by my own hands."

"Oh," Rider smiled back without anger at such a provocation, "you'd best be careful yourself when you say things like that. Not only the Holy Grail, but I'll also plunder your treasury. You were too careless to let the King of Conquerors drink such fine wine."

Though the two kings were speaking words of hostility, their faces were beaming with joyful smiles. The magnanimity of kings was indeed beyond ordinary understanding.

But there was one more king who had not shown a smile since the banquet began until now.

"Speaking of which, Saber, do you have anything to share?"

The conversation turned to the sullen maiden.

Saber felt no affinity with the boastful Rider or the arrogant Archer. The reason she could maintain peace was twofold: firstly, this was a banquet, and one was the initiator while the other provided fine wine, making it improper for her not to treat them with courtesy; secondly, it was the song Assassin had played earlier—while listening to that heavenly music, the expressions on the faces of the three kings were somewhat similar, which made her certain that the other two were or had been dreamers. Finding resonance in this, she found it difficult to make a fuss.

However, she wondered what attitude these two kings, whose ambitions reached the heavens, would have if they heard her own aspiration, drenched in tears of regret.

"It's definitely mockery, isn't it?"

How could you who live in your own desires possibly understand the pain of being betrayed by someone you trusted, of losing everything you wanted to protect?

But I don't want to be laughed at by you...

Just as Saber was hesitating on how to speak, a sudden change occurred!

***

Although the kings appreciated Jizi's performance, they ultimately saw her as nothing more than an entertainer. They casually bestowed some wine upon her and nothing more.

Because kings are proud. They might cheer and drink with their soldiers, chat with old farmers at work, or bestow a little charity upon a beggar.

But entertainers are different.

They exist solely to please their superiors. No matter how beautifully they are packaged, their low status cannot be changed.

Beethoven and Mozart undoubtedly possessed souls that transcended mortal emperors, but that was in the late Renaissance, an era of enlightened social views.

At least, in the eras when King of Heroes, King of Conquerors, and King Arthur lived, entertainers were merely tools to provide a bit of amusement.

Minor figures naturally don't warrant much attention—didn't Rider, who liked inviting other Heroic Spirits to join him, also not extend an invitation to Jizi?

Jizi herself had no complaints about this situation; rather, this was precisely what she had orchestrated.

When other people's attention isn't on her, it becomes much easier to do small things.

For example, though very close by, no one noticed as Jizi secretly plucked a strand of her hair—

***

"Ahhhhhhh! What is that!"

The first to scream was Weber, because just moments ago, a giant monster had risen from behind the wall behind him.

Above its purple torso was a horned, ferocious-looking head. Its limbs resembled a human's, but its terrifying claws bore no resemblance to human hands. Its eyes emitted an aura of madness, and its teeth constantly gnashed, looking as if it desperately wanted to bite something.

The monster easily pushed through the wall, then dropped to all fours and charged towards the banquet attendees.

"Assassin, what is that?"

"Hmm? I don't know either, Master."

The instigator, someone, had already hidden long before this. Now, she was watching others frantically dodge while also misleading a certain priest who was also watching the spectacle.

"This plan was yours, wasn't it? How could you not know?"

"Heaven knows, what I said was to lure Caster's attention over here and then use him to provoke these kings. As for what kind of demons and monsters that lunatic would summon, how could I possibly know?"

"Is it Caster's familiar?"

No, that's Eva, specifically Eva-01, and the Berserk version at that.

Jizi could manifest robots like Gundams, but she couldn't control them—so, thinking differently, why not just manifest something that didn't require control?

The Unicorn Gundam could be remotely operated using NT power, the Dragonar had a degree of autonomy, the Star Gazer also had an intelligent AI, not to mention the AL on the Flame Saber that could even activate the λ-driver with willpower—but even if these robots could act independently without a pilot, Jizi still had to allocate some of her mental energy to issue commands, which could easily be noticed at close range.

But the Berserk EVA had no such concerns. Once summoned, there was nothing else to worry about; it would spontaneously attack everything within its sight. Moreover, while EVA was a robot, it also had carbon-based components, making it easier to blame it on Caster.

"Then, I wish you all a pleasant time, hehe."

Even without seeing herself, Jizi could imagine the extremely smug smile that must have appeared on the beautiful face inherited from Suigintou.

***

Ps1. A personal understanding: In the original work, Saber's favorability towards Archer dropped significantly after his appearance as Archer. While she didn't necessarily dislike Rider, she certainly didn't admire him. Therefore, at the start of the banquet, she was nitpicking and her remarks were impulsive and irrational.

However, here she did not participate in the battle at the harbor and had the experience of fighting alongside Rider. Coupled with Jizi's musical buff, her attitude was not as bad as in the original work, and she was not as impulsive.

Ps2. Regarding the entertainers, I made it up based on our country's history. I'm unsure if it was truly like that in the West. If there are any historical inaccuracies, please prioritize historical facts and don't take it too seriously.

Ps3. Actually, I like Unit-02 and Asuka the most.

Ps4. Tomorrow is the college entrance examination, and I haven't reviewed at all... Sigh, luckily I've taken the exam for several years already.