"Anyway, I'm not an angel, so you don't need to be so nervous."
She chewed the bread in her mouth, then suddenly looked up at Achilles.
"And Achilles, don't you hate me?"
"Um?"
"The hand I sealed off, it's still unusable, isn't it?"
Achilles glanced down at his right arm.
The hand hung limply at its side, motionless, the part below the wrist as if sealed in solidified amber, completely unable to move.
"Oh, this."
He scratched the back of his head with his left hand.
"After all, it's just a matter of being outmatched on the battlefield, so there's nothing to complain about. If you get beaten by someone stronger, you just have to accept it."
Achilles grinned.
"But your Noble Phantasm is truly outrageous. Not only can it seal my Noble Phantasm, it can also open a portal; it's practically cheating."
"Hello."
No, I meant to compliment you! Really!
Atalanta held a cup of hot tea and listened quietly to their conversation.
Her gaze remained fixed on Mukuro Hoshimiya.
The green eyes held a quiet curiosity.
This girl... the power she displayed on the battlefield and the way she sits eating in the restaurant now are completely different people.
On the battlefield, she is the one who can cause Hanging Gardens of Babylon to fall and can send Noble Phantasm into outer space.
Right now, she's just an ordinary girl wearing a white hoodie, who's gotten tired of bread and has run into town looking for a restaurant.
Atalanta lowered her head, took a sip of tea, and said nothing.
After eating for a while, Achilles leaned back in his chair, patted his belly, and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Ah, we're full. By the way, what are your wishes regarding the Holy Grail?"
He suddenly brought up this topic.
"Anyway, there's no war right now, so it won't hurt to chat."
Achilles spoke first.
"My wish is simple. To act as a hero in this Holy Grail War. To fight honorably, and then to win, or to die. That's all."
He patted his chest with his left hand.
"There's no need to make a wish using the Holy Grail."
The greatest reward is the opportunity to fight against the strongest figures of each era. Just the fact that I got to spar with Heracles alone is worth it.
Mukuro Hoshimiya put down her spoon.
"My wish is to obtain a real physical body and continue to remain in this world."
Achilles nodded. "But then again, it's actually quite rare for a Heroic Spirit to want a physical body. Most Heroic Spirit believe that returning to the Throne of Heroes is the right path, don't they?"
I don't think so.
Mukuro Hoshimiya's voice was flat.
"There's nothing on the Throne of Heroes. No sense of the passage of time, no taste of food, nothing to be felt. What's the difference between that and being dead?"
She looked down at the half-bowl of thick soup that remained in her bowl.
"I want to live. It's that simple."
Achilles glanced at her but didn't ask any further questions.
"What about the eldest sister?"
Atalanta put down her teacup.
She remained silent for a moment.
"My wish is to make a wish through the Holy Grail so that all children in the world can be happy."
Achilles ' expression became subtle.
This wish... how should I put it, is very " Atalanta ".
Atalanta herself was abandoned in the mountains by her biological father at birth, and if she had not been raised by a mother bear sent by the goddess Artemis, she would have died in her swaddling clothes long ago.
Therefore, she has an exceptionally deep obsession with the topic of children.
After hearing this, Mukuro Hoshimiya paused in his spoonful of food.
" Atalanta."
"What?"
"Your wish is too great. It cannot be fulfilled by the Holy Grail alone."
Atalanta's ears perked up.
"What's the meaning?"
It means exactly what it says. The Holy Grail cannot bring happiness to all children in the world.
This scale of ambition has exceeded its capabilities.
Atalanta frowned.
"Impossible. Isn't the Holy Grail supposed to be an omnipotent wish-granting machine? If so, it should be able to grant any wish. Only then would it live up to its name as a miracle."
Mukuro Hoshimiya placed the spoon on the edge of the bowl.
"A magic wish-granting machine? That's nothing but a scam."
The noise in the restaurant continued; ordinary people around were chatting and eating, and no one noticed the three unusual guests in the corner.
"The true essence of the Holy Grail is the Third True Magic: the Materialization of the Soul."
Mukuro Hoshimiya's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clearly heard by the two people opposite her.
"Those Magecraft hold the Holy Grail War not to grant the wishes of the Servant."
What they want is to exploit the portal to the Root that opens when the souls of Servants return to the Throne of Heroes after Servant death.
"To get to the Root, that is the Magecraft's ultimate goal."
"As for the Servant ' wishes? They're just bait to lure Heroic Spirit into battle."
Achilles ' fork stopped in mid-air.
"Etc."
His expression changed from relaxed to serious.
"You mean... we Servant were all tricked into coming here?"
That's roughly the idea.
Mukuro Hoshimiya picked up a piece of bread from the side, tore off a small piece, and threw it into the soup.
"However, I do not deny that the Holy Grail does possess the power to grant wishes. It's just that its essence is achieved through magical power accumulated over many years."
"If what you want is money, or something concrete and material like a physical body, it can provide that."
Mukuro Hoshimiya looked at Atalanta.
"But if it's a conceptual desire like 'making all children in the world happy,' with an impact covering the entire human society, then you're overestimating the Holy Grail."
"It doesn't have that much power, nor that high level of authority."
Mukuro Hoshimiya paused.
"You'd better choose a more realistic wish. Like me, to have a physical body."
"If you can stay in this world, you can also help more children with your own hands."
While you may not be able to help all the children in the world, you can at least help those you encounter.
Atalanta's fingers tightened around the rim of the teacup.
She did not immediately refute it.
Complex emotions surged within her green eyes.
The restaurant bell rang, and new customers walked in.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, casting warm yellow dappled patterns on the table.
Achilles put down his fork and leaned back in his chair.
" The Holy Grail War... So this is the truth?"
He crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling.
This is truly the first time I've ever heard of this.
However, it doesn't matter to me. Anyway, my wishes don't need the Holy Grail to be fulfilled.
He looked at Mukuro Hoshimiya again.
"But how did you know all this? This level of information isn't something an ordinary Heroic Spirit could access."
I know a lot of things.
Mukuro Hoshimiya gave a vague reply, without any intention of further explanation.
Atalanta remained silent.
She lowered her head, staring at her reflection in the teacup.
The Holy Grail War can grant the wishes of Heroic Spirit.
This is the reason she was summoned. This is her sole motivation for coming to this era to fight.
Was it all a scam?
I and the other Servant were all tricked into coming here.
Atalanta's ears slowly drooped down.
The noise in the restaurant seemed to fade into the distance. The laughter, the clatter of dishes, and the sounds of cooking in the kitchen all seemed to be separated from her ears by a thin film.
She remembered the night she was abandoned in the mountains.
The newborn baby was wrapped in a coarse cloth and thrown onto the cold rocks.
She would have died that night if the mother bear hadn't appeared.
A newborn child, who knew nothing, was abandoned by his own father.
She'd seen too many things like that.
In her time, abandoned children were as numerous as stones on the roadside.
That's why she made that wish.
To ensure happiness for all children.
But now someone is telling her that the tool used to fulfill this wish was fake from the very beginning.
Atalanta's fingertips turned slightly white.
Achilles glanced at Atalanta.
He didn't speak.
Some things can't be resolved just by listening to other people's comfort.
Mukuro Hoshimiya also glanced at Atalanta, then lowered her head and continued drinking her thick soup.
The restaurant bell rang again.
The sunlight shone warmly on the table where the three people sat.
The town of Trifas outside was quiet and peaceful, completely unaware that inside this small family restaurant, a Servant had just lost her reason for fighting.