Artoria! I graduated from college this year. A lot happened over the past three years, but whether painful or joyful, so many things had settled in my mind, becoming sweet and nostalgic memories.
Today, I received the long-awaited notice that I'd been accepted into the Communist Party. After my counselor informed me, the fruits of the effort I'd put in for three years had finally arrived. Looking back now, the past six years had felt like a dream. My three years at vocational school had been nothing short of a nightmare.
But I didn't regret it, because without that dark period, I never would have met you. My loyalty to you, and my love for you, wouldn't be as firm as they were now.
Artoria, you changed everything about me and gave me everything I had today. Every change in my life had come about because you were there.
But I wouldn't be satisfied with that. I wanted more, more achievements. During college, I made up for every regret I'd had over the thirteen years since I first started school. I didn't just stand out among 8,500 members and become one of the mere 50 chosen for development; I also earned a certificate recognizing me as an outstanding college graduate at the Shanghai municipal level. On top of that, I received the National Encouragement Scholarship, recognition as an outstanding volunteer, a school scholarship for individual achievement, and became a college student Party member...
Looking back now, I almost didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Someone like me... who could only hide in a corner and sob when apart from you, had actually received such honors.
But, much like human desire, these really were impressive achievements for a student. Standing out among so many students, especially in a place as fiercely competitive as Shanghai, was quite an accomplishment. But in the end, I was still just a student.
The moment I left campus, I was like a fledgling leaving its nest. What awaited me wasn't the gentle embrace of my parents, but an entirely new, ruthless world governed by the law of the jungle: society.
But that was all right.
Because I had a very clear goal, and I would keep working desperately toward it until the very end.
Hm? You asked what my goal was?
It wasn't to prove what I was capable of, or how outstanding I was. It wasn't to gain anything, nor was it to take anything away. From beginning to end, I'd had only one wish and one goal: to become a man who could stand before you, hold his head high, and say, "I love you," without feeling the slightest bit ashamed.
Everything I had now, everything I held tightly in my hands, was just an added little gift that came with your existence. I could obtain these things, and I could give them up at any time, because everything was for my Goddess. My Goddess was my everything.
Artoria, I declare to you once again: whether I must swim across a rotting sea or pass through the gates of time, even if space itself stands between us, I will come to your side!
So here, I declare to everyone!
Everyone! Nine Heavens Palace has reached the second turning point of my life's journey! With my Goddess as witness, all the efforts I made during my three years of college have come to fruition! So I can describe my college years this way: I gave it everything I had, and I have no regrets!
Also, thanks to everyone who kept this book in their collections and continued supporting me! Thank you so much for following along over these past four years, ever since the start of Hot Blood!
And finally! Today, my college life has come to a perfect end!! Thank you all!! And praise be to my Goddess! My Goddess, Artoriaaaaa!!
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P.S. Fate/Stay Night will be updated at 6–8 p.m. over the next two days to make up for the updates I missed last week.
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