Waver slowly raised his head after learning everything.
Especially after learning that his recklessness would get Professor Kenneth killed, he felt no longing whatsoever for the future. Even knowing that he would become El-Melloi II changed nothing.
At this moment, his heart was filled only with deep remorse and fear.
He had resented Professor Kenneth for looking down on and disrespecting him. He had wanted to prove himself, but not in this way... He had never wanted to get him killed, to make him die...
This was not the ending he wanted!
After murmuring with his head lowered for a long time, Waver took a deep breath. Then he slowly raised his trembling hand, clenched it into a fist, and lifted it...
Before ruthlessly smashing it into his own face.
Bang!
With a dull thud, Waver toppled to the floor, startling even Iskandar beside him.
"Kid, you..."
It was hard to imagine how much force he had used. He had actually staggered himself with a single punch.
"This punch... is for my willfulness and arrogance."
He did not stop. After speaking, Waver punched himself in the face again.
"This punch is for Professor Kenneth, who may lose his life because of me!"
Another punch. Waver put all his strength into knocking himself to the ground. The ugly smile that had unconsciously appeared at the thought of Professor Kenneth dying and himself inheriting El-Melloi II had completely vanished at this moment. His mind had never been clearer.
"The final punch... is for that ugly smile, for the spiteful joy I felt."
Only after three heavy blows did Waver stop.
"Rovey, thank you. I understand everything now."
"You've come to understand. So what will you do next?"
Waver rose from the floor and wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve. Only once his previous expression was completely gone did he face Rovey and Rider and answer.
"I'm going to find Professor Kenneth."
"...You've made your choice? You should know very well how Professor Kenneth will punish you for doing something like this."
Rovey looked at the determined Waver and spoke seriously. "Have you really prepared yourself to bear the consequences of your mistakes?"
"Prepared myself... Sorry, something like that is too far beyond me. If I had possessed that kind of resolve from the start, things would never have become what you described."
Waver wiped away the blood from his nose, then looked Rovey in the eyes. "I know how Professor Kenneth will punish me, and I'm afraid of being expelled from the Clock Tower... But I'm even more afraid of the future you described coming to pass! For my own selfish desires, just to prove myself, I harmed the teacher who taught me. Knowing he might die, yet choosing to stand by because I could inherit his legacy afterward... I can't do that..."
"I can't go through the Holy Grail War hoping Professor Kenneth dies. I came here to prove myself, not to wait for Professor Kenneth to die!!"
Waver's eyes were slightly red as he looked earnestly at Iskandar beside him. This time, his attitude was different from every time before.
"Rider, you said before that my wish to join the Holy Grail War just to prove myself to others was too small, too pathetic... Now I'm willing to admit it. Back then, I really was a pathetic guy. But now, I know what I need to do."
"My wish is to help Professor Kenneth survive! To save him and make up for the mistakes I made! I won't use the Holy Grail to make a wish and prove myself. I'll prove myself to him through my actions!"
"Excellent! Well said, kid!"
Hearing Waver's declaration, Iskandar clapped his hands and rose to his feet, swept up by the emotion. "That's the resolve! That's the confidence you need! Only this much is worthy of this king."
"Little Master, I'll acknowledge your resolve for now, so this king is willing to listen to you."
"I'm your Master. You should have been listening to me already."
Waver grumbled helplessly.
"Ahahaha, is that so?"
Iskandar laughed loudly, then suddenly clapped his hands. He looked at Waver, then at Rovey beside him. "Then from now on, form an alliance with this king! This kid, me, and your teacher—we three will form an alliance."
"First, we'll eliminate all the other Masters and Servants in one stroke. Then the three of our groups can decide the victor among ourselves. That will ensure all of your safety while also deciding the outcome fairly. What do you think of this king's proposal?"
Iskandar truly deserved to be the king who had once conquered more than half of Europe. His heart was far from as crude as his appearance suggested. A great conqueror capable of such deeds naturally possessed his own ambition and wisdom.
In less than a minute, he had already devised the next plan.
They would join forces and use the teacher-student ties between Waver, Kenneth, and Rovey to create an impenetrable barrier, eliminating all the outsiders. This would fulfill Waver's wish while allowing them to continue pursuing the Holy Grail and their dreams. He was truly both bold and wise.
Rovey could not help gaining a deeper understanding of the large man before him.
This Holy Grail War truly has no shortage of heroes...
"I have no objections. I'm willing to cooperate."
After hearing Iskandar's suggestion, Rovey nodded and extended his hand toward Waver. "What do you think? What is your choice, Waver?"
"I'm going to save Professor Kenneth! I'll prove myself through my own efforts! One day, I'll make Professor Kenneth acknowledge my talent!!"
This time, Waver did not hesitate. He directly grasped Rovey's outstretched hand and spoke with unwavering eyes.
"That's for the best, my friend."
"Then let's call this operation Saving Private Kenneth."
Rovey said with a smile.
"A good name. This king approves."
Iskandar clapped in agreement, while Waver stared at them with a strange expression and could not help complaining.
"What kind of ridiculous name is that?!"
My Beautiful, Longed-For One~
At the top of the Hyatt Hotel.
"Hmm, Lancer, your performance last night was quite good. You did not damage my reputation."
"Although you did not directly eliminate Saber and force her from the field, that could not be helped. After all, no one expected six Servants to become involved last night."
In the empty room, the man sat with his hands clasped and his arms resting on his legs. Kenneth spoke to Lancer before him with considerable authority.
"Thank you for your praise, my Lord. Seeing that you have not punished me leaves me deeply grateful despite my failure... I am very sorry that, because of me, King Arthur was not defeated immediately, causing you trouble."
"But I swear upon my honor as a knight that I will never disappoint you again in the battles to come, my Lord."
Having returned to their base, Fionn sat properly across from Kenneth after receiving permission. Seeing that Kenneth remained so full of spirit, a smile appeared on his face.
Even after suffering a setback, Kenneth had not complained or pushed the blame onto his subordinate. Instead, he had assessed the current situation and seriously considered the next plan. Such a Lord was truly rare.
Though a Servant's duty was to obey her Master's commands, Fionn was still very pleased to have encountered such a normal and outstanding Lord as Kenneth.
"Good. As long as you have that spirit, fight well from now on, Lancer."
Seeing Fionn's humility and loyalty, Kenneth's wounded heart could not help feeling pleased.
Only those who had suffered betrayal could understand the value of loyalty...
Compared to those two unfilial students, the obedient, powerful, loyal, and humble warrior before him brought no small amount of comfort to his heart.
At the same time, Kenneth became even more convinced that, with his strength far surpassing that of the other Masters and an outstanding hero like Fionn at his side, victory in this Holy Grail War would surely belong to him. He would definitely drag those two unfilial students back as well!!
Speaking of those two unfilial students...
Kenneth, who had still been feeling fortunate over summoning Lancer, froze slightly as if he had suddenly remembered something.
He looked once more at the blond knight seated before him, then asked.
"Lancer, I recall you saying that you encountered Iskandar, King of Conquerors, as well as one of my students last night, correct?"
"Yes, my Lord."
Fionn nodded lightly before answering. "Not long after my battle with King Arthur—Saber—last night, a thunder chariot pulled by divine bulls burst into our battlefield from the sky. The red-haired giant atop it called himself Iskandar, King of Conquerors, and your student named Waver was also on that chariot."
"So there can be no mistake. Based on the model for the divine bull chariot and the information you provided, Iskandar's Class is Rider, and his Master is Waver Velvet, the student who stole your Sacred Relic."
Although the many unexpected developments last night had prevented him from carrying off King Arthur as planned, that did not mean Fionn had gained nothing.
With his exceptional wisdom, Fionn had already taken in the circumstances of every Heroic Spirit present and completed his analysis.
"Iskandar, King of Conquerors... It all fits. It all fits. The Sacred Relic that boy stole was a Fragment of the Conqueror's Cloak."
After hearing Fionn's answer, Kenneth nodded thoughtfully. He could now fully confirm that Rider's Master in this Holy Grail War was Waver.
"What about the other one? Did you see Rovey? Or do you know which group he belongs to in this Holy Grail War?"
Kenneth continued questioning him.
"Unfortunately, my Lord. Your other disciple did not personally appear on the battlefield, so I did not see him."
Fionn shook his head. "However, we can narrow down the possibilities based on the information currently available. Saber—King Arthur's Master—should be the Einzbern Family homunculus and the Emiya Kiritsugu you encountered, so he can be ruled out for now. The golden Heroic Spirit appeared as the Archer of the Tohsaka Family, so he can be ruled out as well. Along with Rider and myself, that means your last disciple likely summoned either Caster, Berserker, or Assassin—or perhaps Queen Scáthach."
"Also, my Lord, I am quite puzzled by the appearance of two Lancers last night. Perhaps Caster exploited a loophole in the Holy Grail War and performed an illegal summoning."
"There may be eight Servants..."
Kenneth nodded and did not question Fionn's analysis.
"In other words, Rovey may have two Servants... and one of them is a trump card like Scáthach, Queen of the Land of Shadows."
Kenneth frowned. He was prideful, but not foolish. Based on what he knew of his student, he did not need to think hard to know that Rovey would never summon an uncontrollable Class like Berserker.
Assassin had also already left the field on the first night after recklessly infiltrating the Tohsaka Family estate for an assassination, so the Servant Rovey had summoned was most likely Caster.
If the strongest Classes in terms of parameters and abilities in the Holy Grail War were—
Saber, Lancer, and Archer, the three Knight Classes.
Rider possessed the greatest mobility, Assassin was the hardest to guard against, and that only left Caster as the most troublesome.
Magi understood Magi best. As one of the elite among modern Magi, Kenneth naturally knew how terrifying this Class could be.
In terms of direct strength and destructive power, Caster was far inferior to the other Classes. But when it came to causing trouble and being difficult to deal with, Caster was unquestionably far ahead.
Unlike the three Knight Classes that fought fiercely head-on, Caster fought by concealing herself, constructing a workshop, and completing her magecraft. As such, she usually only appeared in the later stages. The longer things dragged on, the more complete her preparations would become, and the harder she would be to handle.
If an Age of Gods Magus were given enough time to make preparations, just how troublesome would she become once her spellcraft was fully completed? The thought alone gave Kenneth a headache. Casters were usually the kind that had to be focused down and eliminated at the very beginning.
After all, the purpose of the Holy Grail War was to fight over the Holy Grail, and the Holy Grail War itself was merely a magecraft ritual.
With the unfathomable methods of an Age of Gods Magus, it was not impossible for her to directly interfere with the ritual itself. Imagine if the other Masters and Servants fought to the death, struggled through every hardship to claim the final victory, then turned around and discovered that Caster had already taken the Holy Grail first.
Who could possibly accept something like that?
And this Caster seemed to have illegally summoned an exceptional Heroic Spirit like Scáthach! That was clearly equivalent to one person possessing two Servants, one of whom was a warrior queen with such extraordinary power.
The thought alone gave Kenneth a headache.
"If we speak of the original legends from Celtic Mythology, you are clearly stronger, Fionn. Even King Arthur, another protagonist of legend, and Cú Chulainn, Child of Light, are somewhat inferior to you. Among all the myths of the world, the only ones who can truly stand alongside you in accomplishments are Theseus and Hercules. Because all of you are Heroic Spirits who slew gods."
"Unfortunately, though Queen Scáthach has few appearances in legend, her achievements are genuine. She is also a Heroic Spirit who slew a god. Her strength clearly surpasses that King Arthur. And Lancer is not your strongest Class, so if a battle truly breaks out, it is difficult to say how things will go."
Kenneth let out a heavy sigh. Under normal circumstances, the proud Kenneth would never have shown such an expression. With Lancer's tremendous strength working in tandem with his magecraft, they would surely seize the initiative and even suppress their opponents.
But aside from the Assassin whose true name was unknown, the other six participants in this Holy Grail War were all heavyweights. They were either historical heroes, protagonists of myth, or godslayers. It left him with a deep sense of powerlessness.
"Hmm... In the end, I still underestimated this war. Had I known it would be like this, I should have brought more helpers."
Kenneth's expression was solemn. The Holy Grail War he had once believed he was certain to win had been shaken by this string of heavyweight contenders.
Fortunately, he held a reliable Lancer card like Fionn this time, rather than the Rider who had swaggered in last night and openly revealed his true name...
That at least gave him some comfort.
"And my Lord, it is not only Queen Scáthach and your student. The Servant of the Tohsaka Family is equally unfathomable... Judging from how he controlled over a thousand Noble Phantasms simultaneously, his strength may be the greatest in this Holy Grail War."
Having witnessed Gilgamesh control over a thousand Noble Phantasms at once, Fionn also felt inferior. At least in his Lancer Class, he certainly could not defeat that opponent. If he were in a more suitable Class, such as Saber or Rider, he might still have a chance.
To put it plainly, among the current Servants, he was certain of victory against Berserker alone, and he was also confident he could defeat King Arthur.
Rider was not much to fear either. Though he was powerful enough, his nature was far too reckless, and his Master was merely a third-rate Magus who could not bring out his full strength. Thus, their greatest enemies should be Queen Scáthach and that golden Heroic Spirit.
Moreover, based on the latter's methods, Fionn had already formed a guess about his true name.
"My Lord, I may know Archer's true name."
After thinking carefully, Fionn spoke.
"What?"
Kenneth's eyes lit up. Fionn's words were an unexpected delight, and he wanted to hear his answer.
"Gilgamesh, the oldest King of Heroes."
Fionn did not hide anything and stated his answer directly.
Before you continue