Chapter 23

King Arthur, Artoria, sought to change the past and replay history.

Gilgamesh mocked her as a clown, Iskandar rebuked her for disrespecting the history she and her comrades had forged, but Artoria's reply was...

"So what?"

The maiden was unmoved by their words.

"Even if I deny that history, so what? I have confidence in my strength. I believe that if history were redone, I could overturn more tragedies. I absolutely can do it."

She clenched her fist. Even though she had already minimized the losses of the Divine Era Decline, it wasn't enough...

Lancelot and Guinevere bore the stain of shame, Mordred became a traitor scorned by later generations, Agravain was forever cast as a schemer in the tales to come, and... that one clear spark of courage should never have stood against her.

"If you want to stop me, try it. Try to see if you can withstand the fury of King Arthur."

That boldness and obsession instantly changed the expressions of Iskandar and Gilgamesh. From then on, no one dared to see her as a mere girl, but as a king who would twist history for her own desires.

"The king of Britain, the saint of France, the emperor of Rome... so many people wearing the same face. This King nearly got sick of looking at it."

Even within the same era, there could be people who looked strikingly alike, let alone across the entire span of history.

That fellow was already dead.

Gilgamesh wasn't about to project his feelings for one person onto another.

"Besides, if it really were him, then This King still has a score to settle. I allowed him to cut off my head, but it hurt like hell."

Gilgamesh rubbed his neck and laughed with cruel amusement.

"Cut off your head?"

Kirei Kotomine couldn't believe such a person existed, and wasn't Gilgamesh's final death something else...

"Kirei, through what channel did you learn about This King? The Epic of Gilgamesh? A thing written by who knows who?"

Gilgamesh sneered. He had no need to elaborate on what happened back then, because he believed that person would never be buried by history.

"It seems there are plenty of mysteries in history. But I'm no scholar, so I don't need to know."

Kirei Kotomine didn't press further. After all, these matters were probably only of interest to archaeologists and the mages of the Clock Tower.

"Today's lecture will cover the Epic of Gilgamesh..."

The classroom of the Department of Modern Magecraft at the Mage's Association's Clock Tower was packed to capacity.

Though Lord El-Melloi II's name now thundered through the Clock Tower, his classes were notoriously hard to get into, causing students from other disciplines to fight tooth and nail for a seat. But this time, they regretted it.

They regretted coming to this lecture.

Because at the back of the room, a long-established mage had come to audit. Her fiery red hair and masterful puppet techniques marked her identity.

"Professor El-Melloi, most of us here are familiar with the Epic of Gilgamesh. How about telling us something we don't know? Like the newly unearthed stone tablet."

"Tch. That's outside the scope of my lecture."

Lord El-Melloi II glanced at the uninvited Aozaki Touko. Though they had some acquaintance, if he could help it, he wanted nothing to do with this Red of Crafter.

But considering he was merely a Festival Rank while she had reached Grand Rank at a young age... a man must know when to bend.

"The Epic of Gilgamesh is the oldest known heroic epic in the world, but its exact year of origin is unclear. How much of its history and mystery is true or false has been unverifiable—until a new stone tablet was recently unearthed."

Lord El-Melloi II pulled a laptop from his briefcase, and instantly the faces of students from other disciplines changed.

Daring to bring the "clever tricks" of modern science into the Clock Tower—only these oddballs from the Department of Modern Magecraft would do such a thing.

"This is a picture of that tablet. It's not clear, but it'll do."

In the year 2003, one couldn't expect high-definition quality. The image projected onto the blackboard was blurry, but everyone could still make out a figure surrounded by a ring.

"The sun? No, the moon."

The students below voiced their answer. It was a person bathed in moonlight. Was this a Mesopotamian belief in a moon god?

No. The patterns on the clothes of those bathed in moonlight were too elaborate. Commoners or worshippers wouldn't need so many adornments.

"Sacred King of the Bright Moon."

Aozaki Touko read the cuneiform on the image. In her student days, she could reconstruct runes; her linguistic skill was formidable, and she instantly grasped the meaning of the text on the tablet.

"Correct. The tablet calls him that. He is a king who oversees the character of rulers. If a king governs benevolently, he does not appear. If a king is tyrannical, he will stab the king and take his life. The crucial part is that this tablet says... he killed Gilgamesh."

These words sparked an uproar among the students. Everyone knew that Gilgamesh's death involved the concept of the "serpent" shedding its skin and being reborn. If this legend were refuted, it would deal a considerable blow to many mages pursuing immortality.

"Quiet. This is just one tablet. There's no evidence yet to prove its contents. More experts are rushing to study it. I'm only giving you a preview. Don't dwell on it until things are settled."

Lord El-Melloi II had specifically avoided mentioning this because he knew what kind of commotion it would cause. This Aozaki Touko really knew how to make trouble for him.

But why did this woman come to my classroom to stir things up?

Lord El-Melloi II was puzzled. Aozaki Touko was far too inscrutable. However, this time the puppet master carried a long, narrow case with her.

Was it some new kind of puppet inside?

But that length... looked familiar.

Chapter 41: Actually, I Never Went to School

"A brilliant lecture. Honestly, even I wouldn't dare bring a computer into the Clock Tower. Lord El-Melloi II, you really are unconventional."

The class ended, and Aozaki Touko stepped forward to greet an "old friend" she had a slight acquaintance with, startling Lord El-Melloi II into retreating several steps to put distance between them.

"Get to the point. And your Sealing Designation was just lifted—coming to the Clock Tower now, I recall you have no shortage of enemies."

If he could help it, Lord El-Melloi II absolutely wanted nothing to do with a dangerous element like her.

"It's nothing major, actually. I just wanted to borrow your classroom to spread my 'interest' in this stone tablet."

Aozaki Touko glanced at the students whispering among themselves; clearly, her goal was already achieved.

"A feint?"

"Exactly. A show for my little sister. After all, dealing with a Magus isn't such a simple matter."

Aozaki Touko had just set up a small soundproofing barrier. The students couldn't hear what came next, and she didn't care as she casually laid out her plan to take on her own sister.

"Will a scheme like that even work on a Magus?"

Lord El-Melloi II was skeptical. Though that "Human Rocket Launcher" had yet to reach the level of the Marshal of Magic, no one could underestimate magic.

"Leave some words unsaid, leave some words unsaid."

With that, Aozaki Touko turned and left, carrying the long, narrow box on her back.

"A feint? Tch... I feel like I've been set up."

Lord El-Melloi II felt an inexplicable unease, as if he had unknowingly fallen into some kind of trap.

The feint Aozaki Touko mentioned naturally referred to the Holy Sword in her box.

The Servant Marisbury Animsphere truly intended to summon was never that Blade of Vortigern.

Originally, this had nothing to do with Aozaki Touko. But when she tried to acquire that Holy Sword, Marisbury opened his mouth wide and bled her dry, cleaning out her entire savings.

If she didn't get revenge for that, her name wasn't Aozaki.

If not for the binding force of the contract, she wouldn't have settled for such a casual warning—she'd have stripped Marisbury bare.

"Tch... troublesome. After this trip, I won't even be able to pay Shikitori's fee. Hope the Ryougi family will accept an IOU."

Aozaki Touko thought of an old acquaintance she hadn't seen in five years. Those two were probably married by now, but given the Ryougi family's standing, that guy Shikitori probably wouldn't be Shikitori anymore the next time they met.

"Aoko. It's time we settled things between us."

Aozaki Touko boarded the plane back to her home country. Everything from back then was finally coming to an end. To defeat the sister who had ruined her life, she had to give it her all—to prove herself to everyone.

I, Aozaki Touko, am no stepping stone.

"Hey, Fujimaru—this isn't a place to pray for love matches."

Ryuudou Issei looked at the man and woman who had shown up at his family temple bright and early.

The man was fine, one of his dubious friends, but the woman was his natural enemy.

"Who came here for a love match? Do I look like I'm interested in him?"

Tohsaka Rin stomped her foot in frustration. The scene of her hastily dragging Fujimaru Kyoya out of school had spread like wildfire, leaving her with no face to show at school.

"And you! Why didn't you clear it up?"

"Why would I? Rumors like that only get worse the more you try to explain. Let time pass, and they'll fade on their own."

Fujimaru Kyoya spoke with righteous conviction, but in truth, being rumored to be involved with a school beauty was something even his dad would give a thumbs-up for.

Not bragging about it was already an act of virtue.

"This time, I'm here to borrow your family's Buddhist scriptures."

"Scriptures? Are you planning to lay down your blade?"

Ryuudou Issei was stunned. The last thing he expected was for this merciless demon to want to read sutras. The Ryuudou Temple would gladly open its doors wide.

Converting Fujimaru Kyoya, this fiend, would surely earn them some KPI recorded at the Great Thunder Temple.

"The scrolls are in this room. Look all you want, but don't damage them. And this is a sacred Buddhist site—no daytime—"

"Who would do that?!"

Tohsaka Rin flushed and slammed the door shut. Ryuudou Issei sighed quietly. Young people had too much fire in them. A man and woman alone in a room—it wouldn't take long before someone ended up in trouble.

"Hope Fujimaru's got protection ready."

"Protection? Is there something dangerous in Ryuudou Temple?"

A soft female voice suddenly interjected. Her tone was weak, as if she suffered from a chronic illness.

"Miss Kishinami, aren't you unwell? Please don't wander around."

Ryuudou Issei looked at the frail young woman. Though a few years younger than him, she carried a wisdom beyond her age, along with a naivety out of step with the mundane world.

"It's fine. A little walk helps with recovery."

Kishinami Hakuno. The daughter of the head of the "Eitennryuu," a branch school of the Shingon Mikkyo Tachikawa-ryu.

She had been born with a severe illness, said to be unable to live past fourteen. Now that her time was nearly up, her father had finally left the mountains and brought her to the city for treatment.

After spending a considerable sum, her condition had stabilized and even begun to improve.

For now, the father and daughter were staying at Ryuudou Temple as wandering monks.

"My classmates have a bit of interest in Buddhist scriptures, so I just lent them out—nothing more than jokes between friends."

"Classmates? How nice. I've never been to school."

Kishinami Hakuno's expression dimmed with melancholy at the mention of school. She had been frail and sickly since childhood, raised deep in the mountains. She had never even had a friend, let alone attended school.

"Well, since Miss Kishinami will be staying here for a while, why don't I introduce them to you later?"

Seeing Kishinami Hakuno like this, Ryuudou Issei couldn't help but feel pity.

He had heard that her father, in order to cure her illness, was even planning to auction off a High Monk's Sarira—an act of betraying his own teacher. Such a deed showed just how deep this father's love for his daughter truly was.

He really hoped her illness would get better soon.

"So why did you lock the door? I, Fujimaru Kyoya, am not that easy."

Fujimaru Kyoya stared at Tohsaka Rin, who had bolted the front door, his expression turning strange.

Here they were, alone in a room—a man and a woman. If Tohsaka Rin suddenly attacked him, he, a weak man, clearly couldn't resist the demonic muscle of Rin.

He'd have no choice but to lie on the floor and let her do as she pleased.

"You bastard, if it weren't for keeping Magecraft a secret, who would want to do this?"

Tohsaka Rin stomped her foot in frustration. Originally, she had planned to teach Magecraft at Fujimaru Kyoya's house, but then she thought—what if her secret as an appliance idiot got exposed?

A high school girl who couldn't even use a TV...

If that "leverage" ever fell into Fujimaru Kyoya's hands, she would never be able to hold her head up in front of her own disciple for the rest of her life.