Chapter Ten: Transition - The King's Banquet

{Whose name is it..? }

"Remember again, remember again, everything about him"

{Who is it..? }

"This name, engrave it in your heart!"

{Tell me... your name.}

"My name!!"

{Say it! Tell me!}

"Drake D..."

Cold moonlight streamed into the room, and the biting winter wind carried a bone-chilling cold.

His green eyes suddenly opened, gazing at the ceiling with a hint of confusion.

"Xia..."

A colossal beast, its bloody maw agape, thrashed wildly in the water, letting out earth-shattering roars.

Not far from this massive creature, a golden-haired girl stood by the lake, arms crossed, her entire body trembling slightly as if suppressing something.

"Roar!!!"

The beast clearly noticed the girl by the lake. It threw its head back and roared, then instantly moved its enormous body and lunged at her!

Its gaping mouth, sharp fangs, and blood-red eyes. In the blink of an eye, it was before the girl, pouncing towards the delicious-looking prey!

When the golden-haired girl seemed to sense the danger and looked up abruptly, it was already...

Squelch!

Blood splattered everywhere! ...

"Artoria!!!!"

In the Einzbern castle, where snow fell like blossoms, a patient on a bed in a secret room cried out in alarm. The patient then instantly leaped from the bed, looking around in panic as if searching for something.

Anxiety, a contorted face, and slightly reddened eyes all indicated the patient's terrible state of mind.

"Hoo... hoo..." Xia, who had leaped from the bed, panted heavily, looking around at his current surroundings.

A spacious stone room, cold walls, with only a white bed placed in the center of the chamber.

"Ha... ha... it was a dream... haha..., Tch!" With slightly rapid breaths, Xia regained a bit of his sanity upon seeing the surroundings, confirming it was just a dream. He then covered his face with trembling hands and gave a wry smile.

Fear, worry, relief, and self-blame, all negative emotions, surged into Xia's heart at once.

The dream featured gushing crimson blood, a golden Holy Sword impaled in a stone crevice falling from the sky, and... a golden figure being devoured by the beast.

"Damn it! That dream.., what was that about?! Was it mocking me?!" Xia roared unyieldingly.

Xia remained in the secret room in silence for a long time.

Then, he looked up at the sun hanging high in the sky outside the stone room's window.

He gently closed his eyes, feeling the warm touch of the sunlight shining through the window, a sense of peace.

He lightly touched his wound, which was caused by Artoria's Holy Sword...

"Artoria... my name, did you hear it..?"

Shaking his head, Xia straightened his emotions, forcefully suppressing the surge of violence within him to the extreme. Then, he kicked open the stone door of the chamber and walked out.

The stone door, kicked open, slammed directly into the opposite wall with a resounding boom!

At the same time, Alice and the others, who were quietly enjoying their afternoon tea on a balcony, heard the thunderous noise from the basement.

"Oh my? It seems our honored guest has woken up... and... seems to be in a very bad mood. Right? Saber." Alice said with a smile after taking a sip of her hot tea upon hearing the sound.

Kiritsugu, sitting beside Alice, frowned slightly at the loud noise. He then glanced at Saber, who had been staring blankly since waking up yesterday, and paid no further attention.

"...Um, since Xia is awake, am I allowed to leave now??" As the atmosphere on the balcony fell silent again, a weak voice timidly emerged, as if afraid that a single misspoken word would lead to immediate termination by the man opposite them...

The question from the child successfully drew the attention of everyone at the table.

"Go see your Servant first, tell him our agreement, and then you may leave." Kiritsugu coldly stated, standing up first and heading downstairs. Alice, pulling the still-dazed Saber, followed closely behind, and their poor Master Beiju could only trail behind dejectedly.

When Kiritsugu and his group arrived at Xia's location, they were informed by a servant that Xia had already gone out into the snowy grounds outside the castle.

Helplessly, Kiritsugu and the others rushed to the location the servant had indicated. Arriving outside the castle, they saw a red figure standing alone in an open space in the distance, looking up at the sky.

"Hey, Xia!~" Beiju began shouting from a distance. Then, he quickly ran towards Xia's location.

If you can't find the book title, you can try searching for the author, perhaps the name has changed!

Hearing the shout, Xia turned around in surprise to look behind him. Then, he saw a figure flash before his eyes! Immediately after, his abdomen throbbed with pain!

"Puwah~~!!" Xia let out a muffled groan of pain, then, along with the little Master who had crashed into his arms, they tumbled several meters away!

"Uwahahahah!! Xia!! Xia!! They're scaring me to death!! Wahahahah! Especially that expressionless, poker-faced guy!! He's so scary!! Wahahahah!" Beiju, huddled in Xia's arms, cried hysterically.

"I just woke up and walked out of my room, and when I got to the living room, I saw rows of people in black holding weapons just standing there! Then a strange white-haired old man came out and started talking about contracts and agreements. Before I could even understand what was happening, they kidnapped me!! Waaah!!!" Beiju cried even harder at this point! His tears were like a torrent! Endless and inexhaustible~!

"I know, I know! Get off me already! My armor! My battle robe!" Xia yelled, pushing Beiju's face away with one hand while lamenting his own attire.

Looking at the wet tears and sticky snot smearing onto his battle clothes, coupled with Beiju's disgusting habit of rubbing himself against his clothes, Xia's anger flared.

"I'll kill you! Get away from me now! Or I'll really kill you!"

"Waaah! Xia~! You're so heartless! Are you abandoning me for someone new?! Waaah!"

And so, Xia and Beiju were entangled for a full five minutes before they finally separated, under Kiritsugu's glare and Artoria's assistance.

Before parting, they couldn't resist hurling insults at each other, like "useless master" and "super weak Servant who got instantly killed," and "crybaby!" and "perverted Servant!"

Such bickering indirectly caused Xia to completely forget one crucial detail.

Just now... it was Artoria who helped him up.

After Xia put on the formal attire he received from Alice, he officially stepped onto the castle's balcony. There, he met the creator of the main storyline for the next Holy Grail War and the Master of the first Saber.

Emiya Kiritsugu.

Xia gently pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the man.

He glanced at Artoria, who was standing beside Kiritsugu. Seeing her looking at him with a confused and observant expression made Xia's heart race uncontrollably.

"Thank you for helping me up earlier." With a clumsy attempt at conversation, Xia immediately turned his face away after speaking, not daring to look at Artoria's face again.

Artoria, who had been observing him, was slightly taken aback when she heard his thanks. She quickly responded:

"No, you don't need to thank me..."

"En. Okay. Then I won't thank you... En?!" After hearing Artoria's polite reply, Xia instinctively continued, and when he realized what he'd said, he almost slapped himself! What was "Okay, then I won't thank you" supposed to mean?!

Feeling the awkwardness, both of them blushed slightly and turned their faces away, no longer looking at each other.

"Heh heh, can you two discuss your personal matters later? Artoria, Xia~?" Kiritsugu interjected with a smile as he watched the young man and his Servant exchanging glances with a dark expression.

After receiving their agreement, Kiritsugu and Xia's Servant formally resumed their negotiations.

Since Xia and his Master had no interest in the Holy Grail, the negotiation proceeded smoothly.

Xia's Master, Beiju, merely requested that his future living expenses be fully covered by the Einzbern family, and in return, he agreed to stand with the Einzbern faction. Furthermore, he would voluntarily sever his contract with his Servant after the Holy Grail War concluded.

Xia, on the other hand, requested that Saber stand by his side at the final moment when the Holy Grail descended, and in return, he was willing to fight for the Einzbern family.

"Deal!" And just like that, the transaction was sealed with Kiritsugu's word.

Then, with Xia grinning maliciously, Kiritsugu packed Beiju up and carried him into his laboratory.

The reason given was, "Beiju is too weak to perfectly unleash Xia's immense power, so he needs mandatory enhancement!"

Alice also quickly left the balcony, claiming to feel unwell, and disappeared somewhere...

So.

Now only two people remained on the balcony...

Xia, who had just awakened from his slumber.

And Artoria, who had also just woken from a dream's calling...

Had her memories truly been restored?!

...OVER...

This chapter is a transition...

Also, regarding Artoria's calling and memories, should I write a special feature about it?

The countdown to the Fourth Holy Grail War, the King's Banquet, is next.

Additionally, I might add an extra update on Monday.

Of course, if you are unsatisfied with this chapter, I will delete it and rewrite it!

Before the Fifth Holy Grail War, it will be primarily romance-focused...

If you think this book is good, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.