Chapter 46: Gilgamesh's Stroll

The scenery was lacking, the air stifling, but after 10 years in this era that was expected. The shoddy greenery and this cracked path, the gardener should be punished. Nonetheless after 10 years of waiting, I could barely contain my disappointment. A leisurely stroll under the sun with Saber, ruined.

A faker and his counterfeit were enjoying a pleasant rest under a tree in my presence. No it was worse; the faker was pretending to sleep in my presence. A grave offense, but I'll let them go just like that snake. It wasn't worth dirtying my treasures when I was at the cusp of claiming another. I take in the visage of the woman next to me whom I haven't seen in 10 years. The silly girl who called herself a king had kept me waiting in this wretched place for 10 years. Have I ever doted on someone like this before?

"The faker and his counterfeit you have brought here, I tolerate only because of you."

The one I waited for 10 years doesn't shine like she used to, but she shines nonetheless especially compared to those she keeps as batteries. A far cry from the one she had given up. It's a pity that she has only ever ruled over dregs, but that is why she shines so brightly.

"Then what of the past 10 years?" the foolish woman has to ask.

That look of utter contempt she had for me was gone. It was only a few days ago and I already miss that face, but this new face she was making might have been more unforgivable.

"Did I not extend the same courtesy to that thieving knight of yours ten years ago? The only reason anyone breathes is because I allow it, but death is hardly something to abhor. Instead of giving them sweet release, it's more fitting for them to stew in their own sins."

It's not like there isn't any amusement to be derived from fakes and thieves. Just like that thief, there was more agony ahead of these fakes if they kept on living. If not agony for them, agony for Saber. What sort of face did Saber make 10 years ago when she cut down that thief that once called her king in a dingy parking lot? Even after being covered in the grail's mud, could she still make that sort of face?

"The dead have nothing to agonize over and suffering is limited to the living. Is that why you think ill of my wish?" was the obvious she has to state.

"If you have to rely on these children, then you should already know the answer you foolish woman. You no longer shine as brightly as you used to, but no matter, I'll still show you my love until I grow tired of you."

She was no longer opposing me, no longer shining as brightly, but what is unforgivable was that she was no longer looking at me at all. In some ways she was no better than that contemptible cur that served as her battery 10 years ago. As far as I'm concerned, all heroes are lousy fakes compared to me, but this King of Knights now couldn't even pass for that. What is a king without an ego? Even if she lacked the pride of a king, she was not without pride. There were things she prided herself enough to shed tears for. Was that pride of hers something so easily lost in the mud? If she showed me this face 10 years ago, I might have already lost interest and moved on, but I have already waited for 10 years. If she had no more sweet tears to shed, why was I even bothering with her?

Loneliness? Absurd.

This hedonistic era has certainly ruined me, but everything in this world belongs to me and I had to lay down the law as king. There was only one other who could oppose me as an equal; someone who could never be replaced. I toyed around with the idea of bringing him into this world with the grail, but that would only tarnish him. The world as it was could not be forgiven, but the things that can't be obtained and the things that can never be re-obtained will never lose their value.

The mongrels of this era called upon the Grail not to release them from suffering, but to conquer it. A worthless cup filled with curses; a far cry from the hope of the other world, but the humanity of that other world was no less conceited. I cannot be tarnished, but the deliberate attempt cannot go unpunished. In the absence of gods it was only natural for humans to grow conceited. Perhaps that was why I still had any interest in this tarnished woman.

"Are you saying you're willing to offer me aid?" my long awaited prize says without shame.

"If you become my woman, you'll certainly have the privilege to partake in my treasures."

"When it comes to marriage, I have only played the part of the man. Your words and your personality have no value to me, so you'll have to prove yourself to be a fitting husband to me," she says.

"Bwahahaha," I could not hold back my laughter as I brace my forehead.

"You seem to misjudge your value, silly woman."

Her expression does not change akin to well made doll.

"I'm only judging myself based on the value you are putting on me or is being your woman such a worthless thing?" was the bite she gives back with a silly question.

A muddied lion was still a lion. Mud on the surface does not erase the gold underneath.

"The things I treasure cannot be worthless, though I can't say the same for this era."

Taking back the past was her wish for the Holy Grail. If that is true, then she should harbor nothing but contempt for the current era. I shift my gaze towards the mongrels. I narrow my gaze on the foreign faker who has only bested counterfeits.

"Do you perhaps doubt my power because of this faker?"

"What is your relation to him?" was another silly question.

"Other than the crime of replicating my treasures there is none. The only thing of note is that he does not hail from this world."

"Do you perhaps see him as a threat?" was a question I could not forgive, even if it was from my Saber.

"Has the mud given you a sense of humor?"

"From what I understand, this world is something he had wished for after obtaining the Holy Grail and the Class Cards are but the remnants of that conflict. The power he wields is of the red Archer's and not…..," were words I stop as I cup her foul mouth.

I eye the faker who had finally opened his eyes. The one Saber was bluntly implying had bested me in another world. Should I make an example of him right here and now? I had every right to strike him down, but that would validate Saber's mistaken view.

"The Holy Grail War this faker fought in was filled with nothing but dolls made from cheap alchemy. To say he won that farce by his own power and merits are something even he has the sense to deny. The only reason this faker is alive is because of a grail's blessing and the fact his friend was far too soft."

"Far too soft?" the faker has to interrupt, but putting mongrels in their place can be somewhat amusing.

"Hoh? Even a mongrel understands it has to look strong in front of its mate. Embellish all you like."

At the very least the faker had more bite than those my friend had once decided to side with. His little adventure in the other world has given him quite the ego.

"What do you know?" as he dares test my endless knowledge.

"He was your friend, but you seem to take that term far too lightly. In your mind you paint him as an unforgivable enemy; a heretical alchemist. One who had taken the life of your lover right in front of you using the most sadistic method available, but you should know as his friend who once moved in the same direction that he is nothing of the sort. "

Even now, the faker was protecting his own sad ego trying to justify his own sins.

"Siblings would not kill each other. You both harbored such a silly notion, so you should already have known his intentions that night. When that girl's body fell because of his own miscalculation, he did not even allow it to hit the ground. Acting before you could, he desperately tried to save a corpse, to avert a tragedy he himself had experienced firsthand, but all that was left was another doll. After all his bluster, he could do nothing but step aside in the end."

The crude counterfeit stirs.

"Doll?" the Matou Grail speaks and I hand down the proper punishment.

"Yes, in another world is a broken doll with your face that is still faithfully waiting to be reunited with the faker you're clinging onto."

The girl desperately tries to hide her discomfort from the faker she foolishly cherishes. The faker notices nothing; the worms that raised her had trained her well. Even if it is the crime of borrowing my visage, there is no ruler other than I. Some punishments were swift, but her sin is far too great for such mercy. Her opportunity was already lost 11 years ago. I turn my gaze towards the prize I had yet to clam; my wife to be. Was that a small smirk that's blossoming on Saber's face?

A face I had never seen before from her up until now.

We walk past the unsightly scenery and Saber's little smirk had faded as we continue on our little walk. I had no doubts from her intentions. Even now, Saber only had eyes for her own wish and she won't hesitate to wring out all the value of the things she can grasp. She believes that she has already grasped me. Her fear, her contempt and her misgivings were all things she had already thrown away into the mud. It was adorable in a different way than how she once was, but that was why she needed to be punished.

It's been 10 years since we played a game together. There were still faces she had yet to make for me.