Waver Velvet

El-Melloi II

A nondescript residence in Fuyuki City's downtown district.

—Ding-dong.

A crisp knock sounded early in the morning.

Then, two elderly people opened the door.

"Hello, may I ask if Weber is living here now?"

The black-haired young man at the door asked politely.

"You are...?"

"Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Weber's classmate and also his friend. You two can just call me Rovey. I was passing through Fuyuki City and came to visit him. Weber should have mentioned me, right?"

"Hmm...?"

Under the slightly puzzled gazes of the two elderly people, Rovey smiled faintly, then raised his hand and snapped his fingers.

Snap!

After the crisp snap, the elderly couple's expressions immediately changed from confusion to warmth.

"Rovey... Oh, come in, come in. Don't stand on ceremony."

"Thank you."

With the homeowners' permission, he entered the foyer. After politely declining the elderly couple's enthusiastic invitation to sit down and have some fruit, Rovey looked toward a room in the corner. Then he walked past them and quickly pushed open Weber's bedroom door.

"Weber, your senior brother came to see you!"

After that enthusiastic greeting, Rovey pushed open the tightly shut door from outside and saw...

"Hmm?"

Rider, Iskandar—a muscular red-haired man sitting shirtless on the floor without the slightest concern for appearances, still gripping a game controller and fighting fiercely. And Weber, exhausted from last night and still in poor condition, with half his body buried beneath the blankets and his head hidden inside like an ostrich.

The bizarre, philosophical scene made Rovey raise an eyebrow.

Then, recalling certain unofficial accounts about Iskandar, the King of Conquerors...

No, rather, certain stories, a bold guess suddenly surfaced in his mind.

"Oh, so you two... were replenishing mana after the fact?"

Rovey blinked and asked curiously.

"I knew your mana was insufficient, but I never expected you to sacrifice yourself so much for victory... Weber, my opinion of you has improved a little! You're also someone willing to sell his body in pursuit of victory!!"

Rovey gave him a thumbs-up.

"What kind of nonsense is that, you idiot? It's not that!"

Hearing Rovey's familiar voice, Weber's muddled mind immediately cleared. He sprang out from beneath the blankets and retorted with a flushed face.

"It's obviously because this guy is way too big! I didn't have any clothes in my bag that would fit him, and his original outfit was too conspicuous, so he's only wearing pants while running around the room! Nothing like what you're imagining happened!!"

"Really? I don't believe you."

Rovey blinked at him.

"Of course that's how it is! If you don't believe me, ask Rider over there!"

"Oh, oh, so that's what happened... Then I misunderstood."

After teasing Weber a little, Rovey shrugged. Then, without standing on ceremony with his junior, he accepted Iskandar's invitation and sat directly beside Rider. Picking up another controller from the floor, he selected a two-player fighting arcade game—King of Fighters.

"Let's play this. How about it?"

"Come on! I have no objections!"

"Good."

With Rider's agreement, Rovey began working the controller while looking at Weber, who was hurriedly climbing out of bed like a little girl. He teased, "No need to be so nervous. That was just a little joke."

"Even if you really intended to replenish mana, you'd have to compare your sizes first. Your little body and Magic Circuits couldn't withstand Rider's rough handling, so something like that could never happen."

Rovey waved a hand and spoke as naturally as ever.

"...You're still as sharp-tongued as ever. Back at the Clock Tower, you were always bullying me like this... Not only did you make me help write papers, you also kept tricking me into doing Professor Kenneth's book assignments for you."

Weber looked at the uninvited Rovey with some resentment, though there was more helplessness in his eyes.

"But didn't you gain quite a lot from the process? Professor Kenneth's private assignments aren't something you can easily learn in class. There's plenty of precious knowledge in them that you couldn't buy even if you wanted to. As a third-generation Magus, you had the opportunity to encounter a Lord's private coursework. Do you really think that's a bad thing?"

Rovey raised an eyebrow, then continued, "And in that kind of hellhole, aside from an outlier like me, who else would treat you equally as a classmate and friend despite being the head of a family? Who else would be willing to provide research resources where the effort and reward were completely disproportionate?"

"...You were obviously just lazy."

Hearing Rovey speak so matter-of-factly despite treating him like a tool, Weber helplessly complained, then silently sighed.

Although he had plenty of grievances toward this senior brother who always liked dumping extra work on him, Weber had to admit that Rovey was truly the only person who valued him, appreciated him, and had actively tried to recruit him, a third-generation Magus.

At the Clock Tower, as a third-generation Magus of lowly origins and poor aptitude, he had been the lowest-ranked and most despised member of Professor Kenneth's classroom.

Because of his bloodline, he had suffered countless cold stares and humiliations, bullied by nobles who came from families with generations of magecraft inheritance. The only one among them willing to accept him and recognize his talent was the senior brother before him?

No, Rovey was Professor Kenneth's legitimate disciple, while he was merely a student in the classroom. Therefore, he was undoubtedly not qualified to call himself Rovey's fellow disciple.

After all, the difference in status and importance between a disciple and a student had never been comparable.

"So what exactly did you come here for? Did you come to take me back for Professor Kenneth?" Weber asked uneasily.

Weber had not been completely unaware of Rovey's visit.

Before coming, Rovey had directly called him and bluntly told him that he was also in Fuyuki City and wanted to meet his junior.

When Weber received Rovey's call, he had been confused...

He had even suspected it was a trap set by another Master, meant to lure him out and eliminate him.

But after repeatedly confirming the caller's identity, and after the person on the other end recounted every embarrassing incident he had experienced at the Clock Tower and every bit of money he owed for materials, Weber had no choice but to believe him.

His troublesome friend, who had vanished for more than half a year, really was in Fuyuki City—and had come looking for him.

In the end, he could only helplessly tell him his current base, which led to today's visit.

Seeing the three conspicuous scarlet Command Seals on Rovey's hand, Weber understood why he had also appeared here and where he had gone during those missing six months.

So he had come to Fuyuki City long ago to prepare for the Holy Grail War...

Thinking of how he had stolen Professor Kenneth's Sacred Relic and secretly entered this Holy Grail War, Weber gradually became anxious.

"If I said yes, what would you choose? Would you come with me to see Professor Kenneth, or resist? Would you continue trying to prove your worth in this cruel war with that frail body of yours, one that can barely even supply mana to a Servant?"

Rather than answer Weber directly, Rovey replied with a question.

"I... I don't know."

Faced with Rovey's question, Weber silently lowered his head.

Honestly, he had only entered the Holy Grail War on a sudden impulse, coming here to prove himself to Professor Kenneth. Even now, he had yet to figure out the situation and rules of the Holy Grail War.

But one thing was certain. After witnessing so many legendary heroes gathered here last night, no matter how slow Weber was, he should have understood...

This was not a battlefield someone like him, a third-rate Magus, should have entered. The magical ritual called the Holy Grail War was not the magecraft exchange meeting he had imagined, but a genuine fight to the death.

Ever since witnessing that scene last night, his heart had been wavering. Was what he had done really right? How could someone like him possibly survive such slaughter...

"Hey, Weber, did you enter the Holy Grail War with such a half-hearted attitude?"

Seeing Weber's confusion, Rovey shook his head helplessly.

"Sorry, I just acted on impulse too..."

Under Rovey's questioning, Weber lowered his head.

"Weber, haven't I told you this before? You're not mediocre, nor are you useless. It's only because of your bloodline that you can't achieve great things in magecraft. That's an innate flaw, one that can't be remedied."

"But... you actually possess other exceptional talents. You just haven't noticed them yet."

More of that nonsense meant to fool me... I'm not a child anymore.

"Haven't noticed them... Even if you say that, I... can't accept it!"

Hearing Rovey's words, Weber closed his eyes. At the same time, the scene of Professor Kenneth rejecting his work before the entire class surfaced in his mind, and his blood began to boil.

"My efforts were denied like that, mocked like that... Just because of my origins and bloodline, they ignore my effort and talent. You, someone destined to inherit Professor Kenneth's legacy and become the next El-Melloi, could never understand how that feels!"

Weber clenched his teeth and finally spoke the feelings in his heart to Rovey.

"You think... I'll become the new El-Melloi?"

Hearing Weber's words, Rovey smiled and shook his head.

"Wouldn't you? Everyone in the classroom knows you're Professor Kenneth's personal disciple. It's long been set in stone that you'll inherit the classroom in the future..."

"No, Weber. I won't become El-Melloi. The one who becomes El-Melloi II will be someone else."

Rovey answered seriously.

"Someone else? Then... who?!"

Weber stared into Rovey's eyes, his expression full of disbelief.

He knew this friend of his very well.

Although Rovey often tricked him and used him like a tool, Weber knew he was not someone who talked nonsense. At the very least, since they had become friends, he had never lied to him. That was precisely why Rovey's words shocked him so much.

Then, under Weber's astonished gaze, Rovey, who had just been solemn, suddenly smiled mysteriously and raised a finger to point at...

Himself?!

"It's you, Waver Velvet."

"Me?!"

Hearing that absurd answer, Weber's eyes widened abruptly, his face full of disbelief. "What kind of joke is that?! How could it possibly be me?!"

"I'm telling the truth, Weber. You are El-Melloi II."

Rovey still spoke seriously.

"Oh, you mean this boy?" Even Rider, who had been seriously working the controller to break Rovey's infinite combo, could not help becoming interested. He looked at Weber behind him, then leaned toward Rovey curiously. "He'll become that so-called Lord?"

"Yes, he'll become a Lord, El-Melloi II." Rovey put down his controller and nodded toward Weber. "And in the future, Weber will grow thirty centimeters taller."

"Why are we talking about height now?!"

"Hahaha, little Master, it seems you've won this Holy Grail War!"

Rider stood up and laughed as he patted Weber's back. "That's only natural! How could we lose with me participating?"

"Do you think my wish is merely to grow thirty centimeters taller?!"

Hearing that, Weber leaped up from the bed in anger, only to be lifted directly by Rider's large hand.

"What's wrong with wishing to grow taller? Little Master, you're so frail precisely because you're too short..."

"Rovey, stop joking with me. How could I not know Professor Kenneth's personality? How could a man like him possibly pass down the El-Melloi name to me?" Pressed back down by Rider, Weber covered his forehead and directly dismissed Rovey's unreliable topic. "The odds of me inheriting El-Melloi are lower than Human Order suddenly perishing."

Good boy, you actually called it...

"Well, that's only natural. After all, Professor Kenneth is an Aristocratic Faction noble through and through. He's also a genius, a genius far ahead of everyone else in magecraft."

Rovey nodded, then looked at Weber and continued, "Unlike you, who only has theories but no results and struggles to produce any because of your talent, he is a genius in both theory and practice. No one doubts his theories because Professor Kenneth has the ability to turn them into results. Even if someone said he would become a Grand Magus, people would consider it only natural."

Rovey mercilessly exposed the fact that Weber currently had only theories and no accomplishments.

Having his sore spot struck, Weber's face reddened.

"What exactly are you trying to say?! Doesn't that make it even clearer that I can't possibly be El-Melloi II?"

"No... I mean that if Professor Kenneth remains alive, then you truly have no possibility of inheriting the name El-Melloi II."

Rovey shook his head, then bent down to look at the still-unwilling Weber before whispering softly.

"Then... what if Professor Kenneth were unfortunate enough to die? Wouldn't the possibility become a little greater..."

That demon-like whisper echoed beside Weber's ear. The emotionally agitated boy's eyes widened as he stared in disbelief at Rovey, who had spoken such terrifying words.

"Y-you... what exactly are you saying?!"

Weber's teeth began to chatter.

"Shh... Listen to my explanation slowly."