You must not understand, right?

True Title: Solitary Darkness, I Understand That Feeling of Everyone Not Being Interested in Side Stories!

－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－－

Love, the most incredible emotion.

What kind of power, what kind of miracle, what kind of creation, allows love to appear in the world?

Devoted, yet running parallel with contradiction and entanglement; direct, but also cumbersome and unfathomable; obvious, yet sometimes so elusive. When you think you see clearly, perhaps everything is blurry before your eyes; when you finally admit you can't see clearly, you've actually already fallen deep within.

Why would the most loyal betray their most beloved lord? Why would young people from two feuding families drink ** together? Why would a prefect who upholds filial piety threaten his mother with death? Why would a heavenly maiden of noble status abandon everything for a reunion that only happens once a year?

And why would the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, a hero who covered the sky, cruelly push away the Zixia Fairy time and time again? Why would a peerless princess cruelly poison her husband and children? Why, in the end, can the only outcome for the fox spirit and the scholar, who could give their lives for each other, be a helpless resignation that is both within reach and yet worlds apart? (①)

Love, how should I describe you?

King Arthur, who did not understand human hearts, did not know. The Twin-Gun Knight, who was "in the midst of this mountain," also did not know. The only thing they could feel for sure was what drove that silver-haired witch, whom everyone feared, with such childish and ridiculous reasons.

"My Emperor, my King, my love!"

"...An emotion that fills my soul—I love you!"

"...Don't cling so tightly to love that cannot bring a happy ending..."

The lie Saber had come up with earlier to get rid of Saber and Irisviel's entanglement now served an unexpected purpose, successfully resolving the doubts of the two knights.

And the most ingenious part of this lie was that the emotion that brewed it was not entirely false. Jizi genuinely loved Miss Artoria, which made Jizi's performance more "real."

"But, Saber is not..."

"Hm? What's wrong, Lancer?"

"No, it's nothing, no problem..."

Lancer, who had initially been confused by Saber's gender, instantly understood the situation and hurriedly swallowed the words he hadn't yet spoken—in the eyes of that witch, Saber was probably still that heroic young king.

"I..." Saber's expression now was the same as when Lancer had called her out to ask a question earlier, a mixture of struggle and pain. She had originally wanted to change the subject to escape her inner feelings, but ended up being perfectly led back.

And Jizi, who had calculated all of this, naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity. She struck while the iron was hot and said:

"Please don't feel burdened by me—although everything I say and do now contains selfish motives, please believe me, I genuinely don't want to see you tormenting yourself like this again and again, and I don't want you to go further and further down the wrong path."

"The wrong path..." Saber savored the meaning of the word. "So, Berserker really—"

"Yes, my King," Jizi admitted readily, without concern for Lancer, who was right beside them. Because Saber dared to speak Berserker's name first, it proved her trust in Lancer—of course, Jizi was more concerned that Lancer posed no threat at the moment.

"Because I couldn't bear to see someone noble and glorious defiled by such a fallen state, and because we share similar wishes and positions."

"It's because of me again?" Saber's inner pain deepened—it was all her fault that Lancelot had to manifest in such a state, and this Caster (②), who looked like just a little girl, was also because of her—she was clearly not someone worthy of your admiration!

"My King! Even if you use the Holy Grail to return to before the Ceremony of the Selection of the King, even if you deny subsequent history, that sword will still be drawn by you! The heroes of that era will still be attracted by your radiance! Those legends will still have you as the protagonist!"

"What do you know?" Saber's suppressed emotions erupted when she heard Jizi's words. "What do you know! All you see is my radiance, and what you love is merely an existence perfected by the halos added by later generations! Do you know the shadows behind this? The tragedies! The deaths! And the nation that ultimately fell apart!"

"I truly don't know. All my understanding of you comes from historical records and legends. If the gap between records and reality prevents me from truly understanding your words, then what about your knights? Your subjects? The companions who created legends with you, are they all, like me, only attracted by a constructed image?"

Another sharp blow—because of her deep understanding of Saber, Jizi had simulated all possible situations that might arise during the debate in her mind and had prepared appropriate rebuttals. Jizi's voice was not loud when she spoke, but the aura around her pushed back even strong individuals like Saber.

"You still haven't understood the most fundamental issue—it's not your existence that needs correction, but your attitude and thoughts," Jizi continued her verbal guidance with calm eyes fixed on Saber.

"Take me as an example. I am standing here now, talking to you, performing together on a grand stage. The Saber I know now is the true King Arthur, not a symbol from a book. No matter how much you doubt yourself, I dare say this—having truly known you, I love you."

Saber looked up and met Jizi's gaze—those fiery red eyes were so clear that she saw her own reflection in them. Was that haggard, confused, and scattered person with lake-green eyes truly herself? Is this the kind of person you fell in love with?

"It's the same for others, not just me—Lancer, although you and Saber are both heroes from Celtic mythology, you didn't know each other in life. Now that you've met Saber, seen her sword, and also witnessed her inner pain, do you admit that she is still a king worthy of respect and loyalty?"

Lancer, who was suddenly called upon, was startled at first—he was currently in the most awkward position. When they were talking about chivalry, he could still interject a word or two, but now the topic seemed to have shifted to the emotional issues between Saber and Caster. His own emotional problems were a tangled mess, and how could he possibly interfere in other people's affairs? But if he left now, Keneth's five young ladies were still in Caster's hands—then he quickly replied:

"Yes, yes. If Saber doesn't deserve this honor, then no hero does."

In his heart, however, he was thinking about quickly resolving the issue with Keneth's five young ladies, and then let the two girls do whatever they wanted, whether it was rubbing tofu or rubbing mirrors, it had nothing to do with him.

Hearing Lancer and Jizi's affirmation, Saber's emotions gradually stabilized. She took a deep breath and said, "I apologize for making you witness my outburst just now. Let's return to the original question, Caster—"

"Chivalry? We've already discussed it to this extent, do we need to continue? The answer is already clear, isn't it?"

Saber and Lancer exchanged glances, seeing a hint of helplessness in each other's eyes. Caster was indeed an excellent witch. She had successfully persuaded two rather stubborn knights to internally acknowledge the flawed nature of chivalry. However, to truly revise it would be a monumental task—not to mention that they were both Servants with limited existence. Even if a new set of chivalric codes were created, what good would it do? It was no longer the age of knights.

A strange sadness...

"The past cannot be pursued, but the future can be awaited. My King, rather than denying yourself to escape, wouldn't it be better to think about what you can do with this rare opportunity of being in the present world? For example, Berserker, between you and him..."

Sensing Saber's state of mind, Jizi spoke again.

"Then how am I supposed to face those who died because of my incompetence?"

"If you truly changed history, wouldn't that be the real way you couldn't face them? They chose to follow your footsteps, and in doing so, they gained glory and death, becoming part of legends. These were all their own choices, and you want to erase all of that. Do you think they would truly be willing?"

Once again, Jizi left Saber speechless—although Rider had said similar words before, Saber, who was then angered by the mockery, was naturally not as calm and rational in her analysis as she was now. Moreover, her favorability towards Jizi was also higher.

Seeing that the little golden-haired lion might avoid the tragedy of its original fate because of her, Jizi felt a sense of relief. At this moment, Lancer, who had been in the background for a long time, spoke:

"Now that I've seen enough of your conversation, Caster, it's time for us to talk, isn't it?"

Turning her head from Saber, Jizi's expression changed into a strange and dangerous smile:

"Oh? This arm? Are you still going to be foolishly loyal to someone like Keneth? How about joining my side while we're at it? I can guarantee that I won't use Command Spells to twist your will, nor will I doubt your loyalty, allowing you to fight honorably with other heroes. Everything is negotiable, darling~"

－－－－－－－－－－I actually didn't use a dividing line for this chapter's main text－－－－－－－－－

Notes:

①: I believe that those with extensive knowledge will surely be able to tell, but allow me to show off anyway. The references are, in order: the Knight of the Yangtze, Rôden and Juliet, Peacock Flies Southeast, The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, A Chinese Odyssey, Medea, and the story of Jauna.

There were a few more lines after this, but they were too distracting, so I removed them. I'll include them now:

Why do the tsundere who bears the blood feud of her clan and the golden-haired one who sealed a powerful monster constantly fight? Why do the demon-slaying sisters, entwined with the karma of the Killing Stone, draw swords against each other? Why does the man who ascended to godhood become dejected after the world's strongest detective dies? Why does Yakumo Yukari erase Yakumo Ran's memory after killing her? Why does Director Luo have a folder named "Gundam" on her D drive?

All of this is because of—love! Love! LOOOOVE! The name of this emotion, it. is. called. LOVE! AHHHHHH!

②: When Heroic Spirits manifest, their age is chosen from their most peak period (Saber's appearance is fixed as a young girl due to her scabbard), so Jizi's appearance at sixteen or seventeen naturally leads people to think she's a young girl.

P.S. Resurrection is a rather painful and lengthy process, so please understand... I will slowly revive... really...

P.S.2. I thought the side stories were quite interesting, do you really not like them?

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf to avoid not finding it next time.

At the request of many readers, we are now offering a VIP member ad-free feature.

Click to view