Roman Treasures-That's It?

Get her daughter back from the Matou family? Impossible. She simply wasn't that kind of decisive woman.

Ask about her daughter's circumstances in the Matou family? That was quite possible. It just depended on whether Kariya would tell the truth.

Roman Treasure, Is That All?

Roman Treasure, Is That All?

An hour later, the Citizen Tournament had reached its final stage.

"Next up is the final of the Nero Festival Citizen Tournament. The two contestants are Taiga Fujimura and Irisviel."

"By the two contestants' draw, the contest will be singing. There are no restrictions on the song; simply sing whatever you are best at."

"I hereby declare the match—begin!"

After Nero stepped to the side of the arena, Taiga Fujimura immediately cleared her throat, and her singing began.

She went off-key after two lines, and only became more uninhibited from there.

Before she had even finished half the song, she suddenly stopped.

"Eh...? What comes next again?"

Seeing this, Irisviel smiled and said:

"Then it's my turn."

"Wait! I'm not done singing yet. I just suddenly forgot the lyrics. Let me think for a moment."

"You can't. This is an official competition."

"Waaah..."

Taiga Fujimura looked utterly dejected, but the next second, she pulled herself together and smiled.

"I sang half of it, so go ahead. As long as you don't make it halfway through, I win."

"Miss Fujimura, I'm starting now."

Irisviel chuckled softly, closed her eyes, and began humming in a low voice.

As her emotions gradually deepened, her voice slowly grew louder as well.

Unlike Taiga Fujimura's off-key singing, her lullaby was beautiful. It made people unconsciously recall their childhood and gave them the urge to close their eyes for a brief nap.

When the song ended, Nero walked forward from the side while applauding without pause.

"Wonderful! Your singing reminded me of memories from my childhood."

"Then the victor has been decided! I hereby announce that the champion of this year's Nero Festival Citizen Tournament is—Miss Irisviel."

As she spoke, she snapped her fingers.

The next moment, several Roman soldiers carried boxes in from outside the arena.

"Miss Irisviel, your prize is here. Since there is quite a lot of it, I have had them escort you all the way home."

"Thank you very much, Your Majesty Nero."

Irisviel glanced at the boxes beside her, picked up the small bottle on the tray, and smiled.

"I'll accept the Fountain of Life, but please take back the gold. I have no need for such things."

"In exchange, might I have the honor of hearing you sing?"

Nero immediately smiled smugly. After a long while, she said with a grin:

"My singing is the most precious treasure of the Roman Empire. I must say, you have chosen the finest reward. Very well, I permit it."

"Now, listen carefully to my wonderful singing."

As a Rain of Petals descended from the sky, Nero's singing began in tandem.

The scene was breathtakingly beautiful, and everyone in the city looked up at the projection with rapt attention.

Yet compared to the beautiful image, the singing was truly unbearable. It was practically the very definition of being tone-deaf.

Irisviel stared at her blankly, her mouth unconsciously falling open, her face full of astonishment.

Rome's most precious treasure, an artist comparable to Apollo, was this all?

Were Romans really this bad at appreciating art?

There were historical rumors that Nero had merely called herself an artist.

But the Nero before her was not a middle-aged man. She was an adorable girl who looked exactly like Saber.

So Irisviel had actually been looking forward to this.

She had even considered asking Saber to sing afterward. By comparing them, she might have been able to tease her a little.

However, her fantasies had been utterly shattered.

And after embarrassing Your Majesty Nero like this, she wouldn't do anything to me later, would she?

After a long while, the song finally ended, and Nero smiled.

"Well? Applaud my peerless talent!"

"Does Your Majesty Nero think she sings well?"

"Of course! My singing is the best."

"Uh... if, if someone said it was unpleasant, what would you do?"

"People who do not understand art can be found everywhere. I would never take such a trivial matter to heart."

"Um... there are rumors that you once threatened and bribed judges over the outcome of a competition. Is that true?"

"I did indeed do such a thing. Those people were far too infuriating—they actually said my singing was not pleasant at all. Since that was the case, I had to win the championship and prove to the world that they simply did not know how to appreciate it."

So that was it?

Irisviel looked at her speechlessly and thought:

This person is no artist comparable to the god Apollo. She is merely an ordinary girl with an excessive amount of narcissism.

I solved a historical mystery, but it seems to have no real meaning.

"Your Majesty Nero, may I leave now?"

"Of course. Do you truly not want the gold?"

"No. One other prize is enough."

Meanwhile, the city streets were abuzz with voices.

"Whoa... so that was Your Majesty Nero's singing? That was way too amateurish, wasn't it?"

"An artist comparable to Apollo, was that all? It feels like even Apollo's standing has been dragged down. Say, Apollo himself isn't tone-deaf too, is he?"

"That was practically on par with Gian... Come to think of it, those two women competing for the championship seemed to be singing too, right? I wonder how they did."

"They had to be good. No matter what, they couldn't have been worse than Your Majesty Nero, right?"

"Don't you think Your Majesty Nero looked incredibly beautiful while singing?"

"She was beautiful, sure, but it sounded awful. It was completely like an elementary school student rapping."

"Maybe Your Majesty Nero actually sings beautifully, but something went wrong when it reached our ears, making it sound rather unpleasant."

"Can you really say that without feeling guilty? Heh..."

The projection only transmitted Nero's voice and could not transmit the contestants' voices.

Thus, everyone had their own opinion about the singing just now.

Overall, more people were disappointed.

After all, they had expected heavenly music, only to get an elementary school student rapping.

Such a sharp plunge was truly bad for the heart.

At the stall, Shirou had been covering his ears the whole time. Only after the expressions of those around him indicated that the singing had stopped did he lower his hands.

As someone who had heard Nero sing more than once, he had been mentally prepared.

Although the sight of Nero singing was quite amusing, the damage it inflicted on the ears was just as severe.

"It's finally over."

"Did you know from the beginning that Your Majesty Nero couldn't sing, Senior?" Sakura asked quietly.

"Yeah, I had the good fortune to hear it a few times before."

"Does Your Majesty Nero know that she cannot sing well?"

"She knows."

Sakura's eyes filled with confusion. After thinking for several seconds, she asked again:

"She knows she cannot sing well, yet stubbornly believes her singing is art?"

"That's right. That's Nero."

Shirou smiled and shook his head, adding inwardly:

Someone willful and utterly narcissistic.

Rome! Rome!!

Rome! Rome!!

Inside the Colosseum.

After Irisviel and Taiga Fujimura left one after another, Nero was about to announce the end of the Nero Festival when an ox cart crackling with blue lightning suddenly sped in through the air.

The ox cart stopped. Iskandar set down Waver, whom he had been carrying in one hand, and laughed loudly.

"I am Iskandar, the King of Conquerors, summoned into this Holy Grail War as the Rider class."

"Emperor of Rome Nero, I am very satisfied with the festival you have brought forth."

"I hereby acknowledge you as an enemy. Being able to cross blades with you will surely be a wonderful thing."

At that point, he suddenly turned to look behind and to the side, raised both hands, and shouted in a voice that rang through the heavens:

"All Heroic Spirits must be watching this fascinating festival!"

"Now, all Heroic Spirits summoned by the Holy Grail, gather here!"

"Those cowards afraid to show themselves shall earn the contempt of Iskandar, the King of Conquerors!"

The next moment, a golden light descended from the sky, and the Servant Gilgamesh, clad in golden armor, landed within the arena.

"To think that in a single night, two rats who ignored my existence and called themselves Kings would emerge."

"That makes no sense. I, Iskandar, am the universally acknowledged King of Conquerors."

At that, Iskandar glanced at Nero and smiled.

"And this Emperor of Rome has earned my recognition. She is an enemy I must conquer."

"What a joke. There is only one hero in heaven and earth worthy of being called King, and that is me. All others are nothing more than insignificant rabble."

"Since we have come this far, why not state your name first?"

"You ask me? A mere mongrel dares ask me—"

Before he could finish speaking, a golden longsword suddenly appeared in Gilgamesh's hand. His face twisted, and he looked utterly enraged.

"Mongrel...! Tokiomi!! How dare you commit such disrespect... trash! You can't even manage something as simple as protecting yourself? Trash..."

Yet no matter how continuously he cursed, the sword in his hand remained beyond his control as it moved toward his neck.

Pfft!

The sword sliced across his neck, blood sprayed out, and his curses abruptly ceased. Gilgamesh's entire body turned into Spirit Particles and gradually disappeared.

Even at the very end, he never gave his name.

Iskandar stared blankly at him. Only after a long while did he come back to his senses, his expression grave as he said: