Saving Private Kenneth

Rovey raised a finger and smiled faintly at Weber.

"Do you want to know the truth? An... answer concerning the future."

That solemn, earnest gaze gradually made him stop making a fuss.

In the end, under Rovey's gaze, Weber swallowed and struggled to speak in a dry voice.

"...I do."

"That's more like it."

Upon hearing Weber's answer, Rovey narrowed his eyes slightly, and an intriguing smile appeared on his face.

"Saving Private Kenneth"

"So, that was roughly the future I observed."

As he spoke, Rovey took a sip of the soda Iskandar handed him.

"Much better..."

After telling such a long story, he needed to wet his throat.

"How... how could something like that possibly happen?"

After seriously listening to Rovey's lengthy, bizarre account, Weber's expression became increasingly strange.

In the end, not knowing how to face it, he shoved his head back beneath the covers and covered it with a pillow, as though trying to escape reality.

"What's wrong? Didn't you like that story?"

Sitting on the floor, Rovey started another round of gaming with Iskandar while turning back to ask Weber, who was lying on the bed.

"Or did you find it too absurd to believe? That you would become El-Melloi II in the future. Do you think I'd be bored enough to make up such an outrageous lie just to fool you?"

"Ugh, it does sound ridiculous, but I can tell from your tone and eyes that you're serious... And my intuition tells me this is probably true."

"I never imagined you had come into contact with magecraft related to something like the Second Magic: Parallel World Observation, and had even observed such absurd events in a parallel world... But to me, this is practically overflowing with malice."

Curled up beneath the covers, Weber continued helplessly, "Sure enough, no matter what, I can't accept something like this with peace of mind..."

He had learned that Kenneth would die in the Fourth Holy Grail War, and that he himself would inherit Kenneth's name and classroom.

Though Weber could not truly understand how his counterpart in that parallel world had felt, the turmoil in his heart at this moment was no less than that other self's.

"Oh? What exactly can't you accept?"

Rovey tilted his head. As his fingers expertly performed combos on the controller and unleashed Kyo Kusanagi's special combo on Rider beside him, leaving him anxiously scratching his head, he continued, "Kenneth possibly dying? Or the possibility of you, a half-baked third-rate Magus, inheriting El-Melloi II?"

"Isn't it obvious? All of it!"

Weber retorted emotionally, "I may hate Professor Kenneth and detest his arrogant attitude, but that's from an ordinary person's perspective. As a Magus, of course I respect him and admire his talent! I dream of one day becoming a Magus like him..."

"But I also know perfectly well that a third-rate nobody like me can never become a Magus like Professor Kenneth. And unlike a genius like you, Professor Kenneth surely hates me too. Maybe he doesn't even regard me as his student at all?!"

As Weber spoke, he became increasingly agitated. With a flurry of gestures, he actually crawled out from beneath the covers, his eyes slightly red as he looked aggrievedly at the two people below, who were still seriously playing games.

Without any suspense, Iskandar's Iori Yagami was once again taken out by Rovey's Kyo Kusanagi in a single combo, making him frantically claw at his hair.

"Sigh, you..."

Rovey sighed. Just as he was about to say something, Iskandar, who had just been utterly crushed by Rovey, beat him to it. He flicked Weber's forehead and said irritably,

"Little Master, you're saying such immature things again... No wonder that so-called Kenneth looks down on you."

"How did that saying go... Small but old beyond his years? Hmm... You certainly are small, but your brain doesn't seem all that sharp."

Iskandar rubbed his chin and muttered thoughtfully.

"Why are you bringing up my height again? Rovey said it already—I'll definitely grow another thirty centimeters in the future!!"

Weber protested fiercely.

"Ha ha ha! We'll talk about the future when it arrives. Right now, you're still just a child."

"Damn it..."

Faced with Rider's teasing, Weber could do nothing but sulk.

"Hey, Weber, did you know? Sometimes people grow in just an instant."

Rovey put down the controller and declined Iskandar's invitation for three hundred more rounds. Looking at Weber, he said, "Human futures are the easiest to change, and they hold the most possibilities. No one can absolutely predict what a person's future will be. Actually, I know an incredibly powerful fortune-teller. She can predict future events with one hundred percent accuracy. Even Merlin's legendary Clairvoyance might not compare to hers."

"You mean... Absolute Future Vision? Does something like that really exist in this world?"

Hearing Rovey's example, Weber could not help but feel surprised, while Iskandar beside him thoughtfully rubbed his chin.

"An absolute prediction, huh? That really is a cheating ability. If I had possessed such a power during my lifetime, I could have predicted Darius's army movements. Then I definitely could have won the war in a very short time!"

As the King of Conquerors, Iskandar was clearly very interested in the one-hundred-percent divination Rovey had mentioned.

"Good, I've decided! Once I obtain the Holy Grail and gain a new body, I shall recruit that person capable of absolute prediction into my ranks! Then I'll form another invincible, strongest army!!"

"..."

"..."

Neither Rovey nor Weber paid attention to Rider's foolish interruption. Naturally, he would not reveal the existence of the Mother of Kanbako City, and merely continued as though telling a story.

"But... Weber, think about it. Even an absolute prediction—would it truly be absolute? Suppose someone predicted that you would eat cake tonight. Then you could simply choose not to eat cake and avoid that prediction—avoid the original future—and create a new possibility... If even small matters can be like this, then what about major ones? Like your growth?"

Rovey pointed at his height and continued, "Before I told you, who could have imagined that you would grow another thirty centimeters in the future? So don't belittle yourself, and don't deny your own future. Who can say for sure when it comes to possibilities? What kind of person you want to become has always been your own decision. Whether you want to become better or worse, that is all up to you..."

"It feels like you're feeding me empty encouragement..."

"Maybe? But isn't what I said the truth? As Magi, you and I should both understand what it means."

Sigh, understanding it is one thing, but I still can't accept it!

"Someone as rebellious as me ending up inheriting my teacher's name..."

Weber's expression remained awkward, and he still found it difficult to accept that reality.

"Hey, it's only one possibility anyway. Thinking about it isn't necessarily a bad thing."

Rovey waved a hand, not forcing anything on him.

"The future you is far more outstanding than you are now..."

When it came to overtime, he was absolutely exceptional.

"Far more outstanding..."

Weber murmured those words a few times, then looked at Rovey again and asked,

"Rovey, can I ask you a few detailed questions?"

"Questions for me? About your future? Sure. It's not like there's anything I can't say."

Rovey shrugged, indicating that he had no problem with it.

"Then I'll ask..."

"First, why didn't future you inherit it? Even if Professor Kenneth really died, wouldn't you be more suited to being his successor? How could it possibly fall to me?!"

"Oh? You finally noticed the key point, blind monk."

Rovey clapped, then answered Weber's excellent question.

"It's simple. That parallel world had no me—or rather, I had already died, perishing in some magecraft experiment."

It was just like that freak in this world. While researching the Law Book and attempting an Angel Summoning ritual, he had actually sacrificed his own soul.

He was a complete freak too.

He thought to himself.

"You died?"

"Yeah, I died. The tragic death of a young man."

Weber looked surprised, then hesitated before asking another question. "What about everyone else? Even without you, there should have been someone more suitable than me, right?"

"Yes, there were indeed people more suitable than you."

Rovey nodded. "But they all chose to refuse."

"Why? Inheriting a Lord's position and estate should be something people fight over, shouldn't it?! Why would they refuse?"

With Rovey's answer, Weber sat upright seriously. He had already grasped the heart of the issue.

"Yeah. Under normal circumstances, Professor Kenneth's inheritance must be immense, including his school, classroom, and research results."

"However, that's under the premise of a normal death. What if I told you... that after he died, he left behind not only those assets, but also an enormous, outrageous debt?"

"Do you think anyone would still be willing to inherit it then? So naturally, you ended up being the sucker who took it on."

"Debt..."

Hearing Rovey's words, Weber revealed an incredulous expression and replied in shock, "How is that possible? It would be one thing if others didn't know Professor Kenneth, but you definitely do. You know how formidable he is... He's a prodigy and genius of the magecraft world. Every one of his concepts and discoveries would cause a sensation. Their value can't possibly be measured in money alone. How could he owe so much debt?! What happened?"

"It's very simple..."

Rovey tilted his head slightly. He had expected Weber's question long ago.

"Just as I said before, unlike an armchair dreamer like you, Professor Kenneth is a man of action. He can put theories into practice. In his hands, those theories have a chance of becoming results, so they naturally hold value. But what if... he dies? Who would put those theories into practice? You? Or those other students? Do you think any of them have that ability?"

"And after he dies, the other Lords will swarm in and ruthlessly divide up his estate. Who would leave the good things for the next successor? Besides, Professor Kenneth's Magic Crest was destroyed, leaving less than one-tenth..."

"Y-you said... Professor Kenneth's Magic Crest had less than one-tenth left?!!"

Hearing that answer, the already uneasy Weber lost his balance and fell straight off the bed. He hurriedly crawled to Rovey's side and stared at him in disbelief.

"That Magic Crest passed down through nine generations had less than one-tenth left... All that inheritance was destroyed..."

Just thinking of it made him tremble uncontrollably.

Then he did not ask any further questions. Instead, he racked his brains and began thinking frantically, while his expression kept changing as though he had eaten a poisonous mushroom...

"Kid."

Seeing this, Rider wanted to step forward and ask what was going on, but Rovey stopped him.

He knew Weber was on the verge of figuring it out.

Ten minutes passed silently.

Finally, amid the long contemplation and torment, Weber gradually deduced the full chain of events. Then, like a broken machine, he turned his stiff head toward Rovey and asked, word by word,

"Then, Rovey... please tell me. Was Professor Kenneth's death related to me? Was it because I stole the Sacred Relic he had prepared that he... died?"

"Mm... It was indeed related to some extent. According to that World Line's outcome, you stole a piece of his cloak and summoned Rider, which forced him to summon a very troublesome Servant. That indirectly led to his death."

Rovey did not lie.

Even in the original World Line, Weber's theft of the cloak fragment had led Kenneth to summon Diarmuid.

As for Diarmuid as a Servant, Rovey had only one evaluation: "More trouble than he's worth."

Though he appeared obedient, he would disobey his Master's orders on the battlefield for the sake of his pride as a knight. And because of that ill-fated romance of his, Kenneth's fiancée was charmed, leaving Kenneth distracted throughout the entire war. He was killed without even using his full strength.

If—just if—Kenneth's Servant had been Iskandar instead?

Although Rovey could not see any compatibility between them either, no matter how bad things got, they could not be worse than Diarmuid, right? At least he would not charm Kenneth's fiancée.

Even if the possibility remained slim, Kenneth did have a chance of surviving.

"So that was it... Then, the reason you entered the war, was it also to..."

As he spoke, Weber lowered his head. Staring at the scarlet Command Seals on Rovey's hand, he asked, "...save Professor Kenneth."

"That was indeed one factor. Professor Kenneth has treated me well, and I owe him a debt of gratitude. Knowing he might die, I have no reason not to help him as his student."

Rovey nodded and admitted it directly. Though he had entered the Holy Grail War for his own plans, it was undeniable that he truly wanted to help Kenneth. Those feelings were absolutely genuine.

"So, what do you think? What kind of future is that for you?"

"Professor Kenneth dies an unnatural death, and you, someone who was denied by others, inherit everything... Is that really what you've always wanted?"

Rovey stared seriously into Weber's trembling eyes and asked, word by word, "Now tell me your choice."

"Your wish? And what you intend to do next..."

"My... my wish."