After the meal, the three people left the restaurant one after another.
The door bell rang three times.
Achilles stretched at the doorway, his joints cracking.
"That's it then? See you on the battlefield next time?"
"Um."
Mukuro Hoshimiya turned and walked towards the other end of the street, waving without even looking back.
Achilles watched her figure disappear around the corner, then turned to look at Atalanta.
Atalanta was still standing at the restaurant entrance, her ears drooping slightly, her gaze fixed on the cobblestone pavement in front of her.
"Big sister?"
Let's go.
The two left in opposite directions.
Mukuro Hoshimiya had no intention of following them.
With her hands in her sweatshirt pockets, she continued strolling along the main street of the town of Trifas.
There was a small stall selling bagels by the roadside. The owner, a plump middle-aged woman, was using tongs to scoop golden-brown bagels out of the oil and sprinkle them with powdered sugar.
Mukuro Hoshimiya stopped and bought three.
After walking a little further, I saw a general store with several rows of brightly packaged candies and chocolate bars displayed in its glass counter.
She went inside, picked out some items, and asked the shopkeeper to pack them in a paper bag.
Further ahead was an old man selling roasted chestnuts, pushing a modified tin cart, the chestnuts crackling on the charcoal fire.
Mukuro Hoshimiya bought another pack.
The roasted chestnuts in the paper bag were still hot, warming my palms through the bag.
She peeled and ate chestnuts as she walked, slowly making her way back towards the village along the country path she had come from.
The weather is so nice today.
Blue sky, sunshine, gentle breeze, no battles, no Command Spell, no portals.
She was just a girl wearing a white hoodie, carrying a few bags of snacks, walking along a country road in Romania.
I wish it could always be like this.
Mukuro Hoshimiya peeled a chestnut, popped the flesh into his mouth, and chewed it.
Forget it, thinking about this is useless.
The outline of the Millennia Fortress gradually became clear at the end of the road.
Mukuro Hoshimiya passed through the main gate of the fortress and walked along the inner corridor toward her room.
She stopped when she reached the veranda next to the garden.
Two people were sitting on a garden bench in front.
Astolfo, and that special android.
Astolfo sat cross-legged on a bench, his pink hair Gilgamesh in the sunlight, gesturing with an unusually serious expression.
The android sat beside him, Pale- faced but in relatively good spirits, listening quietly.
The two huddled together, whispering something to each other.
The sound of Mukuro Hoshimiya's footsteps made Astolfo look up.
"Ah! Mukuro! You're back!"
"Yeah, I went out for a walk."
Mukuro Hoshimiya walked over, took some of the bagels and candies from the paper bag, and placed them on the armrest of the bench.
"These are for you; I bought them in town."
Astolfo's eyes lit up instantly.
Wow! Donuts! And candy! Thank you, Mukuro!
Without any hesitation, he grabbed a bagel and took a big bite, his cheeks bulging out.
The android hesitated for a moment, then reached out and took a candy.
"Thanks."
Mukuro Hoshimiya nodded, without asking what they had been discussing.
It's none of my business.
She carried the remaining snacks back to her room.
As I walked through the garden corridor and passed the side door of the central hall, I heard voices and the sound of a wheelchair rolling in the corridor ahead.
Fiore sat in a wheelchair, being pushed by Caules, as the two siblings slowly walked down the corridor.
Fiore was saying something, Caules would occasionally chime in; their conversation sounded relaxed and natural.
Fiore smiled.
That smile was completely different from the ones of the previous few days.
His previous smile always carried a thin layer of dignity and restraint, the proper expression befitting the heir of the Yggdmillennia.
But this smile looks natural; it's the kind of smile a sister makes when chatting with her brother because she finds something funny.
Perhaps because the Command Spell had been handed over to Darnic, the responsibility of fighting was no longer on her shoulders.
It could just be because the weather is nice today.
Mukuro Hoshimiya stepped aside to make way for them.
Caules saw his Servant, Mukuro Hoshimiya, and greeted him.
"Ah, Archer, you're back."
Mukuro Hoshimiya hummed in agreement and took out two roasted chestnuts from the paper bag, handing them over.
Caules paused for a moment, then took it. Fiore also took one and nodded slightly to Mukuro Hoshimiya.
"Thanks."
Mukuro Hoshimiya waved her hand, picked up the remaining snacks, and turned into the corridor leading to her room.
Back in her room, she put the paper bag on the table and collapsed onto the bed.
I lay on my back, looking at the ceiling.
The Great Holy Grail War has entered its later stages.
Mukuro Hoshimiya was mentally assessing the current situation.
Of the Servant have already left the stage, the ones she can confirm are:
Siegfried, Saber of the Black Faction, was defeated by Achilles in a duel within the barrier.
Mordred, Saber of the Red Faction, had her Spirit Core shattered by Heracles.
Vlad III, Lancer of the Black Faction, was killed by Karna's Noble Phantasm.
Spartacus, the Red Faction Berserker, was thrown into outer space and detonated by himself.
Avicebron, the Black Faction Caster, had his Spirit Core pierced by himself.
Five riders.
No, there's one more.
The Red Faction should also have a Caster, but he hasn't appeared since falling from the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Whether they've left the scene or are hiding their activities is uncertain.
However, according to the activation rules of the Greater Grail, as long as one or two more Servant leave the field, the minimum activation conditions will be met.
Then it will be time for you to reap the rewards.
Mukuro Hoshimiya turned over and lay on her side, hugging her pillow.
The plan has been finalized.
When the Greater Grail is ready to be activated, she will use her "Open" ability to open the passage into the Greater Grail.
Then go in by yourself.
Then, use the word "close" to completely seal the entrance.
No one outside, whether it's Darnic, Amakusa Shirou, Jeanne d'Arc, or anyone else, can get back in.
Once she has fulfilled her desires inside and obtained a real physical body, it won't matter what the people outside want to do.
Anyway, the wish has already come true.
but...
Mukuro Hoshimiya's thoughts drifted back to the meal she had that afternoon.
Atalanta's ears droop down.
Achilles' nonchalant attitude of "it doesn't matter to me".
If other Servant come to their senses and abandon those unrealistic desires, and only wish to obtain a physical body to remain in the mortal world...
It 'Mukuro Hoshimiya not impossible to consider bringing them along.
In any case, fulfilling a few more wishes to "grant a physical body" shouldn't be a burden for the Holy Grail.
This kind of material transformation requires far less magical power than grand pronouncements like changing the whole world.
Then it will be up to them to choose.
Thinking of this, Mukuro Hoshimiya yawned and buried her face in the pillow.
Go take a nap first.
We'll talk about it tonight.