"Good day to you."
The situation could not be described by any other words except 'strange'.
Indeed. Who would have thought that somehow the last Excalibur resulted in a naked boy instead of the usual Class Card? Certainly not Issei.
"Gah! Clothes! Clothes!" Issei shouted as he covered his eyes using his two hands, not wanting to see the sight any more than he had.
Sona reflexively averted her eyes to the side with a blush. She had unintentionally seen something that she should not have. At least, not before marriage.
The only one who did not let her eyes stranded was Miyu. She was still looking at the naked golden-haired boy who came out of her attack.
"Ah, I suppose not everyone will accept my state of indecency. Please wait for a bit, since I don't know if I still can do it…" the boy said as a golden ripple appeared beside him. His arm then entered the golden ripple and after several seconds, he pulled out a tunic.
"Though, I do wonder why one of you is still looking at me fiercely?"
"Not me!" Issei shouted, still covering his eyes.
"…Miyu-san?" Sona whose head still faced her left could not see her right where Miyu was standing, so she concluded it must be her.
"Potential enemy. If everyone stopped looking, we don't know what he can do."
Shame filled Issei and Sona's mind. Miyu was absolutely right. Here they had a potential enemy. None of them know if the recently-emerged boy would be hostile or not, but they averted their eyes to not see him and in turn, made it possible for him to exploit the situation.
"…Please forgive me, Miyu-san. I placed the burden onto you," Sona stopped averting her eyes and looked at the golden-haired boy in front of them. Even though he was n-naked, she could not burden someone else if she were to become a leader. She promised herself in the future that she would not let this kind of situation startle her anymore.
"Well, if none of you look away, what does it say for me if I do that?" Issei reluctantly opened his eyes and also looked at the golden-haired boy who was smiling. "And put that on already! You already have the clothes on your hands, aren't you?!"
The golden-haired boy wore his tunic. "Such bonds between the three of you… why if I meet my friend sooner, I don't think my older self will become like that," he muttered to himself.
The three of them did not reply since they lacked context. None of them averted their eyes as the golden-haired boy moved to wear his tunic.
"So, greetings."
"What exactly are you?" Sona cut to the chase.
"Why, such rudeness. The answer is not what, but who."
"My apologies. Then let me rephrase the question. How do you come out of the Class Card? Is it destroyed?"
"Still rude," the boy pouted. "But since I am greatly amused by your show of camaraderie, I will answer it. The first you already know. The second, you should already know."
Looking at the smirking boy, Issei shouted, "That doesn't answer a damn thing, you sparkly bastard!"
The boy dubbed 'sparkly bastard' by Issei raised his eyebrow. "Excuse me, what did you just call me?"
"Sparkly bastard!"
Miyu knocked Issei on the back of his head. "Don't agitate potential strong enemy."
"Well, he's sparkly from all the goldish embroidery in his clothes, and the way he avoids answering Sona-san's question makes him a bastard! So, I'm not wrong!"
"Keh, hahahahaha! Such honesty. Why I rarely find a human like you anymore. Tell me, fool. If I threaten to kill you if you call me by that derogatory name one more time, would you take it?"
"You can try," Issei replied, which resulted in another smack from Miyu.
"Then," Sona interjected to quell the tension. "What is your purpose, coming out here now?"
Instead of answering, the boy looked straight at Miyu.
"Indeed. What is my purpose? Even when you question me like that, the answer can be only one. It is the thing that the other half of me wants so much," the boy answered, still cryptically.
To be honest, Issei was tired of the game already. He was never the kind of guy to do subtlety. It was why the boy infuriated him so much.
That did not mean Issei was stupid.
Okay, he might have made several questionable decisions in his life, but he was not stupid! For example, he knew that the boy in front of them was most likely the manifestation of the Heroic Spirit inside the Class Card, whoever he was. He also thought that the boy could manifest because Excalibur destroyed whatever corrupted the Heroic Spirit. Him calling the golden-haired boy sparkly bastard was only to infuriate him back but failed, so Issei gritted his teeth in frustration.
"As you surmise, I seek the one thing that all the participant of the war wants."
Another cryptic statement. Issei did not understand a single thing that came out of the golden-haired boy. What war? What did they want they waged a war? It was clear to Issei that he lacked the context of the conversation.
Subtly, Issei looked towards his companion and relieved upon seeing a neutral expression in Sona's face. That expression… if what Issei learned over the time they spent together was correct, then that expression meant that Sona reserved judgment because of lack of information. That meant Sona was as in the dark as he was.
"The Holy Grail."
"The Holy Grail?" Issei couldn't help but mutter.
The smile on the boy's face turned sinister.
"Correct. The Holy Grail."
Sona kept her reserved expression. As a Devil, she might know what was it that the child Heroic Spirit wanted, Issei thought to himself.
However, it was Miyu's expression that made him worry. For some reason, Miyu looked at the golden-haired boy in a shock.
Issei cursed in his mind. No doubt Miyu knew what it was that the boy talked about. And if Miyu knew about it, chance was it was a matter of the other world, Miyu's original world.
Issei then remembered Miyu's story when they first met Sona inside Serafall's office.
"I was kidnapped for something beyond my understanding. The next thing I knew, I was used as a part of some ritual to grant a wish." "It was as if the Class Cards fueled my brother's wish."
His eyes widened in realization as he looked at Miyu in horror.
"…What is it, Ise-san?"
"Hoo, interesting. It seems that fool has come to a realization. I wonder if 'fool' is a title befitting you," the Heroic Spirit observed. "No, the fool is indeed a fitting title. As they say, even a broken clock is right twice a day."
Everyone instantly turned their attention to him. Sona in curiosity, the Heroic Spirit in amusement, but Miyu in panic.
"Ise-"
"I…" Issei began. "I don't think I have all the knowledge about whatever this Holy Grail is, but, but, gathering all the bits of information…"
Issei took a deep breath and glared at the Heroic Spirit.
"I am glad that Miyu comes to this world. Scum like you is what makes Miyu unhappy!"
The grin on the golden Heroic Spirit's face could not get any wider.
"That's it! Such foolishness! Yes, if I have to be honest, I haven't had the pleasure to feel this fun for a long time!"
Miyu's panic turned into relief. That was right, Miyu. No need to worry.
"Ise-san, can you elaborate?"
"What? Giving up on getting information out of me, you Phantasmal creature?"
Sona did not deign that little jab with a response. She instead looked at Issei, waiting for the explanation.
Issei looked at Miyu who held a little reservation about what he wanted to do. It made him falter a little. But, but, a small part of his mind thought. Miyu did not want Sona to know for fear of ostracization. But if for such a small thing like this, Sona ostracized Miyu, then wouldn't that mean as a person, Sona was shallow?
Issei did not believe Sona to be a shallow person.
Therefore, against Miyu's little fear of reaching out, Issei reached out on her behalf.
"Remember Miyu's backstory? She's undermining the 'ritual' part. It's not just a simple ritual, is it? It is the war you're talking about, and the reward of the war is Miyu," Issei explained to Sona, but his glare towards the youthful Heroic Spirit still stood.
"Correct. The Holy Grail War. A ritual to summon an omnipotent wish-granting device. A thing sought by so many people in so many different worlds." The golden Heroic Spirit answered with a nod. "However, the last candidate to win the ritual kind of interfering with the ritual itself. What a letdown. That Faker did not care for anything but himself."
"Take back those words!" Issei suddenly shouted.
"Hmm," the boy grinned. "Why should I?"
"Miyu's brother is the most courageous and kind guy in the world! He is not a selfish guy like you made him up to be!"
"That Faker is a fool, like you. Indeed, you both even used the same power. Shall I call you Faker too? Nonetheless, I have entertained you long enough."
Issei and the others tensed after hearing the golden-haired boy said this.
Countless golden ripples appeared above them. This time it was even more than it was before.
"To make myself clear, I want the Holy Grail."
He phrased it like that, but Sona, Miyu, and Issei knew what he really meant.
He wanted Miyu.
Like hell Issei would give his new sister up!
Issei summoned the Boosted Gear. Archer Card was in cooldown, nobody could protect them from the rain of blades!
He made a quick calculation in mind. Between Caster and Saber, the one who can be sacrificed without reducing the chance to win was…
"Miyu! Uninstall and put up a shield!"
Miyu did not question his command. She immediately followed his command by uninstalling Saber and put up a big Kaleidoshield Dome.
"Oh," the golden-haired boy's smile turned into a dark frown. "It seems that my other half holds much more of my treasure than I thought."
The golden ripples in the sky receded without doing anything. Then a single ripple appeared beside the Heroic Spirit. "Using Ea again will definitely make the two Phantasmal creatures in the sky intervene once more."
However, instead of a weapon, from the ripple came out a single glass of orange juice. The golden-haired boy sipped it with grace. "Then if I can't take the initiative to attack, I will let you come to me."
Miyu dispelled the Kaleidoshield and put up a guard against the golden Heroic Spirit. Sona also prepared herself to fly and put up magic circles.
Meanwhile, Issei gawked at the blatant taunt he did.
"As if anyone would fall for it! If you don't want to attack why should we attack you?! You're the one who wants Miyu in the first place! Do you think I am an impulsive idiot?!"
Miyu and Sona looked at Issei in confusion. What?
"Ah, my brilliant plan foiled by a fool. So, what they say is true. A line dividing a fool and a genius are blurred."
Issei sighed to calm himself down.
"Oi, Heroic Spirit," he called towards the Heroic Spirit.
"Rude. Even I have a name, you know."
"Well, I don't know your name!"
"You're right. I have not introduced myself. Well then, please forgive my earlier transgression. You may call me Gil."
"Well then, Gil-san. Since we're at a stalemate, what do you say we talk a little?" Issei proposed.
What? What stalemate? Miyu looked at Sona in confusion. Sona herself looked between Issei and Gil.
"I see," Sona muttered to herself. "If we attack him now, we would just play into his hand. Gil himself did not want to attack for some reason. Since the one who wants Miyu is Gil, him baiting us to attack is a way to let his chance to get Miyu up. On the other hand, we do not need to attack him since all we want is to defend Miyu from being taken. A stalemate indeed."
It shed light on how quick Issei's battlefield assessment was. And if she were to be honest, she fell for the bait. As a Devil whose main entertainment was Rating Game, a game of conflict between two parties, she completely missed the advantage they held against Gil.
She looked towards the two negotiating parties.
"I have no interest in hearing what you fool have to say," Gil sipped his orange juice once more.
"But this would benefit both of us, I'm sure," Issei persisted.
Gil looked straight at Issei before he scoffed.
"Very well. I shall allow you to speak your proposal. Do know that this is not a sign of agreement. I will wait until you finish your proposal first before I laugh."
Issei took a deep breath before he pitched his proposal. "Why don't you work with us?"
"Ise!"
"What?!"
The reaction from Sona and Miyu was exactly like what he had in his mind. This was honestly him grasping at straws. Why did Issei offer something like that to Gil?
"You want to get your other treasure back. Whether we like it or not, your other half will come after Miyu, possibly entering this world. There is no need for you to take Miyu and put her as bait. Let your other half come here and we'll defeat him together. You win, I win, everyone wins."
The proposal from actually made Sona forgot her composure and dropped her jaw. Waiting for Gil's other half? Possibly from Miyu's world?
"How could you be so sure about my other half, you fool?" Gil did not brush it off. In fact, his eyes gained a curious glint as he looked at Issei.
"I am very sure. Serafall-san, Ruby, what do you think?"
And it was then that Sona and Miyu understood why Issei did that.
It was his so-called expertise on magical girl series talking again.
Sona and Miyu sighed in defeat. "Well, whatever, you can do this without me," Sona muttered to herself as she threw Caster's staff towards Issei.
"Hi hi, I heard someone called me?" Serafall descended from the sky. "Is there something that I can help with?"
"Gil-san. These two also understand my reason. Serafall-san, Ruby, what do you think about my proposal? Of course, whoever has the other half of Gil's Class Card will come here for Miyu, right? No doubt about it."
"That's right!" Ruby, in the form of Caster's staff, nodded in agreement. It bent weirdly in Issei's eyes, but at least Ruby agreed with him.
"I see your logic, Ise-kun. Indeed, they will come for Miyu soon," Serafall also nodded as she replied.
What logic?! Sona wanted to shout but held herself back. It would do no good to lose composure when she had conceded the conversation.
"I see no logic in your assumption," Gil replied.
Thank you! Sona thanked her enemy this time.
"And that's where you're wrong. For you see, your other half will come as the new antagonist in season three!" Issei pointed out his finger towards Gil.
…
"In our conversation before, Ruby and I notice the lack of power upgrade that we got as a magical girl. That makes us think that the Class Card debacle still hasn't ended and lo and behold, you come!" Issei explained.
"I see, I see. Yes, there's no upgrade. Class Card itself is a mid-season upgrade from the first season. But what about the second season, Ise-kun?"
"It's our previous weeks, of course. The second season is a bit slow and focused on our daily life. The first seven Class Card is completed in a matter of… ten days, if I remember. Then after that, the second season highlighted our slow daily life before the peace would eventually be shattered by the revelation of an eighth Class Card! Thus, this confrontation is the climax of the second season!"
"But, but, but, Gil-san over there foreshadowed another force of the enemy in a faraway world, plotting their moves to take Miyu back to them. What else is that aside from obvious plot hook for next season?!" Ruby continued Issei's explanation with a swagger.
…
The silence was broken with a laugh from Gil. The youthful golden Heroic Spirit could not help but laugh after Issei and the other's explanation.
"Truly, the fool is a title befitting you. But I have to ask myself. If you are a fool, then what am I for getting hooked by said fool? Very well, you fool. I agree with your proposal."
After that agreement from Gil, the tension that MIyu held gone and she fell onto the ground in relief.
"Miyu-san," she was helped by Sona to get back to her feet. "I cannot believe Ise-san did that."
"I can't believe it either," Miyu responded with a smile.
"Can you satisfy my curiosity, you fool? If we were to fight, how would you hypothetically finish me?" Gil asked Issei as they sealed the deal with a handshake.
"Ah, I had to use every brain cell I have to get my alternative solution. You are the Class Card, aren't you? Somehow you manifested yourself after Miyu's attack purified the black miasma within you. There's a big chance that your connection with the Class Card can be severed by Caster's Rule Breaker if I remember Sona-san's explanation about it clearly."
"I see… yes, inside the foolishness laid cunningness as high as a fox. Then why didn't you do it?"
To answer this, Issei looked at their new ally with an expression that conveyed 'are you an idiot?'
"Don't look at me like that, I am very interested in hearing your answer. I had an inkling in mind, but I want to hear it straight from you."
"Four heads are better than three. And besides, I don't know what will happen to the Class Card if we used Rule Breaker. Worst case, everything explodes and the Card burns into ash, forever gone. That's one less power to face the next season's antagonist."
"Keh, hahahaha! Very amusing, indeed. You may tell the other Phantasmal creature in the sky to dismiss the Mirror World. I shall abide by my words and allying myself with you until we faced my other self."
It seemed that Ajuka heard Gil's declaration because he dismissed the Mirror World and flew down to the ground.
"I have to ask, why would the two of you leave the matter of facing me to the three younglings? You two can easily fight me on equal footing," Gil asked the two adults.
Ajuka took one look at Serafall before he answered. "We're looking to the future."
At the same time, Serafall gave her nonchalant answer, "We're giving the EXP towards them, duh. What else?"
Ajuka sighed hearing Serafall's answer. Of course, to her, that would be the reason despite what she said before.
Issei helped Sona shouldered Miyu as they walked back towards their home. Miyu was exhausted, but luckily, they had no wounds except for scrapes that would heal overnight.
"Thank you, Ise. I'm sorry I lied about my story before…"
Issei shook his head as he smiled. "No. You didn't lie. You downplayed the truth, yes, but it is not a lie. That's why I can't get angry."
"…thanks."
"I am angry at you for underestimating Sona-san, though. Don't lie. I see your expression when Sona-san asked for an explanation."
That made Miyu's smile turned into a frown.
"…I think I missed some context. What do you mean by Miyu-san underestimating me?" Sona asked Issei.
"Gil said it himself before. I really treasure the bonds we have between us. Miyu dreaded her exposed origin. She did not believe you will see her just as Emiya Miyu, the little sister of Hyoudou Issei. She believed that you, too, will see her as the Holy Grail."
Sona looked hurt when Issei answered her question.
Miyu herself was confused. "I thought I am the older siblings between us?"
"No way! I saw the paper! Mom wrote you as my younger sister!"
"Was it the first paper? Mother corrected that when I told her my birth date."
"No! I refuse to believe that! I am the big brother!"
Issei looked towards Sona for support but found himself looking at a smile that promised him untold pain.
"Miyu-san's baby brother, Ise-san, I think you should not delude yourself. We can ask Miki-obasan this morning."
"Traitor!"
"I do use Medea the Witch of Betrayal after all," was Sona's answer to Issei's accusation.
"Noooo!"
Issei shouted as the other two laughed at his expense.
"But really, Miyu-san. I am a little hurt that you thought of me like that."
"…if it makes you feel better, I don't want Issei to know. But he's too sharp to not realize it."
"That is not the point. I also believe that the past weeks are fun. I even divulge my intention to make you part of my Peerage. That is why I'm hurt that you thought so little of me," Sona explained.
"To be honest, that's part of why I don't want you or anyone to know. I'm afraid that you will push the offer and force me to accept had you known about my origin," Miyu looked at anything but Sona.
"…If it was the me who do not get to know you and Ise-san, she might do it. But no, you too have feelings, Miyu-san, and I understand that. I might not be a Gremory who has the disposition to treat their servants as close as a family member, but I also care about you."
Miyu bowed her head. "Please forgive me…"
"Let me be the big brother and all is forgiven."
"Keep Ise-san as the little brother and all is forgiven."
Issei and Sona said at the same time.
"Very well. The one I slighted is Sona-san, after all. I'm sorry, Ise. You are my little brother."
"Miyu! Sona-san!"
Again, they laughed as they walked back home peacefully.