Chapter VI

When we got back to Bucharest, Lin and I's parents were already there at the hotel in the lobby. Our train was delayed for an additional hour due to another train that had broken down and was in the way. So we were forced to wait while they got those passengers onto shuttle busses and the track was cleared. Luckily we had the comfort of our room to relax in and the dining cart's prices weren't too abhorrent, so breakfast was okay.

But really, I had hoped I would have more time to prepare.

"Fae, Lin, it's so good to see you!" Mom was all smiles as she gathered Lin and I in her arms and squeezed us both in a big hug.

Lin, who was soaking up the affection, hugged our mother right back with a beaming grin while I was subtly using Reinforcement on my spine just in case Mom either was being too Mom or she decided to be passive-aggressive about taking Lin to a vampire's territory, albeit unknowingly. And while I knew Mom loved me with a love only a mother could provide, she was also a very harsh teacher. After all, she was the one who trained me in all the physical uses of standard magecraft. I still sometimes have nightmarish flashbacks now and again to the obstacle courses from hell she put me through. So I wouldn't put it past her to say that breaking my spine was just another lesson.

"Mommy!" Lin grinned as she nuzzled in our mother's warmth.

"Hi, Mom," I replied dryly. I knew Mom was making a scene, given the looks sent our way, but Mom couldn't really care less what other people thought. But oddly enough, she put us down sooner than usual. The reason became readily apparent, for the moment her arms left us, Mom immediately trained her eyes onto Atalanta.

Oh shit.

"Ah, you must be the Ar-ehem, Atalanta that my Lin is so enamored about," Mom smiled at my Servant, fully facing her. "I am Aella Ashford, and let me just say, Lin wasn't wrong when she said that you're very pretty."

"Oh, um, thank you?" Atalanta said unsurely, looking uncomfortable with my mother's intensive aura.

Not that I blamed her. One of the reasons why our family estate is out in the country area is so that Mom doesn't scare off Dad's potential business partners that she might've accidentally met while walking out in the city. It's happened before. Hell, I remember as a kid when Dad was starting up his businesses with non-magical people that he was having a hard time with.

One day while I was playing outside, the guests Dad had invited suddenly ran out of the house as if the Devil and his dogs were on their tails given how fast they ran and how quickly they got into their cars and drove off. It was only later that I found out what happened over dinner when Dad was complaining to Mom about not scaring off his business away. Mom had looked over the business contract before Dad did and while it was subtle, it wasn't really that favorable for him, so she made some threats that were subtle and not. Needless to say, those business partners weren't going to stick around to find out if it was physically possible for their eyes to be pulled out of their sockets and jammed through their asses and mouths into their stomachs and colons just so they could have two different points of views as they saw my mother pull their intestines out with a rusty spoon from the inside out.

"So tell me, what do you think of my son here? He's quite the catch, isn't he?"

All my thoughts came to a complete stop as I stared at my mother in complete bewilderment. Uh, what was going on?

Idly, I noticed Atalanta fumble for an answer as her cheeks began to redden.

"Wait, Mom, what the heck?" I finally found my voice, though I admit it my voice trembled a bit.

"Well, when a girl joins a boy and his sister on their vacation, a mother cannot help but worry," Mom turned her smile to me. "After all, there are so many things a boy and girl can do without supervision to stop them."

I did something, I did something wrong and Mom was giving me payback for what I did. As my cheeks reddened considerably that the heat they gave off made me light-headed, I swore I would find out what I did wrong and apologize for it.

"Now now, dear, that's enough teasing," Dad chuckled as he saw fit to intervene. Thank god too, or else Atalanta and I would lose the war due to not showing up for it since we might've found a hole to bury ourselves in to die of embarrassment. "Any more and Faelan won't talk to us for a week." He then turned to my Servant. "Galen Ashford, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Atalanta."

"Ehem," Atalanta coughed into her fist, probably to calm herself. "Likewise, it is truly a pleasure to meet the parents of a daughter so radiant and her brother who takes his role as a responsible brother so well."

That, I could see, gave my parents pause for they were undoubtedly pleased with Atalanta's words. Offhandedly, I noticed that Lin was staring at the rest of us in confusion and curiosity. Ah, to not understand the rest of the world, how I envy you sometimes, Lin. But it turns out I wasn't the only one who was watching Lin.

"Well, I see we're boring Lin a little here," Dad noted with an easy-going smile. "I assume you three already had breakfast?"

I nodded. A hungry Lin was a difficult Lin.

"Good," Dad nodded, his smile remaining as he nodded at the backpack on my back, "well, why don't we head upstairs and put your luggage away, and then we can plan out what we'll do for the day."

"Sure," I shrugged. But I got the message, this was all an excuse for Lin to not suspect anything while Dad handed over the gear I requested.

"How were the hot springs, Lin?" Mom smiled down at Lin as the five of us headed towards the elevators.

"You and Mom got a room?" I raised a brow at Dad as Lin regaled our mother of her short time in Baile Herculane.

"Well, we thought might as well," Dad shrugged before he began speaking a bit quietly so that only I, and Atalanta, could hear. "The vacation was supposed to last a week and it would be a shame to cancel it. So your mother and I decided to stay so Lin can enjoy Bucharest while you and Atalanta take care of business."

I simply nodded. Bucharest was a lot safer than Baile Herculane, with more people and more eyes everywhere, including security cameras. And with both Mom and Dad keeping an eye on Lin, even a Dead Apostle would think twice about attacking, especially since Mom was here. Though, I did note that Archer was being a lot more quiet than usual from the corner of my eye, though it was probably because she was unsure as to what to

Dad led me to his and Mom's hotel room while Mom and Atalanta took Lin to our room so that they could entertain the toddler while I checked over my gear. Unsurprisingly, their room wasn't far from ours. Mom must've threatened someone… again.

"All right," Dad grunted as he lifted a rifle case from under the bed and set it atop the mattress while grabbing one of my backpacks from home and placed it alongside the rifle case. "Here's everything you asked for. Ammo, your outfit, your sword, and even that one thing you asked at the last second."

"Yeah, sorry about that," I smiled sheepishly. "I figured that since it's a Grail War, anything could happen. I figured having an ace up my sleeve could keep me in the war if things get too dicey."

"Smart," Dad nodded, "especially since no one would ever expect that one coming."

"That's the idea," I smiled sardonically as I opened the rifle case.

Inside was my personal weapon that I used as an Enforcer for the Clocktower. Taking it out, I unsheathed the blade a bit as I stared at the red metal. This was a chokuto sword forged by a master swordsmith at the Clocktower. It was a sword forged from an unknown metal that was black in coloration yet for whatever reason, its sharp edge glowed red whenever I channeled mana into it. The sword took over a year to make given that it was made with enhanced traditional tools and not modern ones. And the time it took to make the sword also included the use of magecraft.

Plus side of a magus who also worked as a weaponsmith was that they frowned upon the use of modern technology. While it was a weakness that could be quite easily exploited, it was a boon in terms of fashioning Mystic Codes. After all, this was a weapon that I would use for the rest of my life, a weapon should be crafted with care, no matter how long it took.

Safe to say, when I finally got this sword, it felt like a part of me I didn't know was missing came to me. After receiving this sword, I had begun to eagerly anticipate the next hunt so that I could test my mettle against a new opponent. Apostle and Sealing Designate hunts became, well they weren't easier, but they did become more entertaining.

"So, are you going to get your things ready, or are you going to remain staring at Mugetsu like that for a while?" Dad asked, breaking me out of my reverie. Looking back at him, I saw him looking at me with an amused smirk. "I could leave the room if you want me to."

"Haha, very funny, Dad," I rolled my eyes.

"Mm, I thought it was," he grinned with a shrug.

Sheathing Mugetsu, I placed it back in the rifle case before looking through the backpack. A whole case of a thousand modified 5.7x28mm rounds for my Five-SeveN Custom as well as another case containing two hundred modified .50 caliber rounds for the Custom Eagle. I had debated bringing the Custom Eagle for this war, as it was more suited to hunting vampires, it would at least give a Servant pause and it would definitely kill an enemy Master should I encounter one face to face.

Setting aside the ammo, as well as the new magazines I would use for them, I pulled out the outfit I wore while working as an Enforcer. Black dress pants, a red zippered and sleeveless shirt with a collar, black gloves, a black double-breasted blazer with red lining, as well as a pair of black boots. All articles of clothing were made with fabrics that were capable of conducting mana. However, in terms of design… I won't lie, I was inspired by a character from an American animated show when I came up with this look. Though I didn't add any other details such as the rose designs, that would've made me too distinguishable. And given that I was an Enforcer, anonymity could go a long way. Sure, black and red were colors that stood out but not by much. After all, I saw a regular human wearing a banana costume in the middle of summer going through Piccadilly Circus once, dancing to Party Rock from an old boombox on his shoulder all the while.

"Are you sure that this is what you want?" Dad asked me quietly as I began to put my gear back into their bags and zipping them up. "Participating in the war, I mean. The last time an Ashford was involved with the Heaven's Feel, we almost lost everything. It was a miracle my grandfather managed to come back with the family crest intact given his condition."

"Then it's a good thing that I don't have it then, right?" I shrugged.

"I-" Dad then groaned in frustration. "That's not what I meant, Faelan. My grandfather barely made it before he was able to pass on the family crest, that's how severe his injuries were. And he didn't even last the night after. Out of all the rituals out there, the Third Magic's is one of the dangerous given the carnage required."

"I know," I nodded, "I work for the Vice Director, remember? I've seen my fair share of battlefields and horrors before, Dad. I don't know how bad this war will become, but if I can make it all the way to the end, I'd rather keep the wish from the undesirables. Who knows that wish an idiot would make with that. At least if I win it, I could make a pointless wish and give the Greater Grail to the Vice-Director for safekeeping."

"Okay, fine," Dad sighed after a moment, "I can see I can't persuade you otherwise. Hmph, you definitely have gotten that stubbornness from your mother."

"And she's so proud of it," I chuckled, causing Dad to laugh.

"So…" Dad suddenly had a grin, a rather sly grin that was rarely seen on the man that I called my father. "That Archer Servant of yours is really pretty, isn't she?"

I raised a brow at him, "I guess?" What was he getting at?

"Do you like her?"

I frowned for a moment, it didn't take me long to figure out what he meant. But I sure as hell wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. If I were to ever sincerely thank the Vice Director for anything, it's my learned ability to maintain a steady poker face. The Queen of the Clocktower demanded perfection and having worked for her for two years now, one learned not to screw with the Queen's status quo. As such, I hardly blinked when asked his question. That said, he could never find out that I was crushing on my Servant pretty hard. He'd just take that info to Mom and that would make my life worse…

"If you mean, that I respect her as a person and a Hero worthy of the Throne of Heroes, then yes, I do like her," I shrugged. Though inwardly, I was patting myself on the back. And the winner of the best actor award goes to Faelan Ashford! "How could anyone not? She's strong, capable, driven. Quite honestly, it's a shame that not so many people actually know of her legend."

"Mmhmm, I see," Dad's smirk was still in place. "Are you sure that you don't feel anything else?"

"Yup," I nodded.

"Then why are your cheeks red?"

…

…

"Fuck…"

Right, well, remember what I just said about acting? Yeah, that was all bullshit if it wasn't apparent enough.

"I mean, I don't blame you, Son," Dad shrugged as I hurriedly returned my attention to my gear. Though we both knew it was to hide my glowing red face. "She is definitely beautiful; bright green eyes, pouty lips, a pretty face, luscious long hair, pale skin, long legs. A bit lacking in the chest department, but breasts don't make the woman. But if her legend about her being a foot racer is true, she must have strong legs and a fine ass. Why if I were your age and hadn't met your mother, I would've made a move myself."

"And if Mom heard you right now, Lin and I would only have one living parent within the hour!" I hissed, my fully red face reflecting my embarrassment due to my father's words. I mean, he wasn't wrong, I wonder if Atalanta did have a nice ass- No! Bad Faelan! No! No fantasizing about your Servant!

"Haha, that's true," Dad laughed, a go-happy on his face. "Your mother would indeed kill me if she heard me. But that's the thing, I have no intention of wooing your Servant." At this, he sent me a significant look.

Catching onto what he was implying, I glared at him. "Well, neither do I!"

"Uh-huh," Dad's expression turned dubious. "To be honest, I'm actually glad that this finally happened. I mean, you never talked about any of your female classmates back in the Clocktower nor did you ever bring a girl home. Your mother and I were starting to think that you batted for the other team. Not that there's anything wrong with that! Your mother and I love you no matter what."

I could feel my eye twitch violently. "I'm not gay, Dad," I ground out past gritted teeth. Seriously? He's trying to give me the talk?! When I was twenty? The first time was uncomfortable enough given that Dad for some reason took out a chart and puppets! I mean, who does that?

"Again, nothing wrong with that if you were," Dad reiterated. "We just don't want you to be alone. You passed down that marriage proposal rather quickly with the Fraga family."

"Speaking of which, why did you consider it?" I latched onto that topic as I raised a brow at him while I continued to fight down the heat in my cheeks and face. The less we spoke about my Servant and my growing crush on her, the better.

"The Fragas are similar to us," Dad shrugged, "Both in terms of magecraft, research, and social standing. Our families would've only benefited from such a union, there weren't many downsides to it, if any. Besides, do you remember the candidate they proposed? You and she would've made badass kids." Here, he adopted a contemplative look as he crossed his arms and placed a hand on his chin in thought. "Though I guess if you were to use your wish on the Grail to give your Servant a corporeal body, the two of you would make awesome kids too."

Son of a- Seriously?! With my cheeks inflamed once again, I could only glare at him as I stuffed my gear back into their place. "Dad, she is a disciple of Artemis and swore a vow of celibacy, if you remember her legend. I kinda doubt she wants to break that vow."

"Meh, just a pothole in the journey that is love and romance," Dad shrugged.

With the way he acts, you'd think Dad was an author rather than a magus who was cold and calculating, caring for nothing save for continuing their family lines and reaching the Akashic Records. Then again, what was I? I knew enough about practical magecraft and runes that me being an Enforcer was obvious. Shaking my head as my thoughts wandered, I took my clothes and walked over to the bathroom.

"You're not staying, are you?" Dad asked aloud so I could hear him.

"No," I replied as I began changing, "since the Masters of the Black Faction must have at least one ear in every city in the country, news of what happened in Baile Herculane will eventually reach their ears by their contacts in the town. Especially since a Servant was involved. As far as we know, only one Servant has been summoned on their side, right?"

"Ah, yes, the one that slaughtered the Clocktower's elite teams," I heard Dad mutter.

"Count Dracula," I replied, pulling my gloves on.

"He will be near invincible while here in Romania, especially after twenty years gathering strength," Dad said. "The Yggdmillennia clan chose well in summoning such a Servant."

"Well, all heroes have a weakness," I smirked to myself. "After all, most of them were killed instead of dying of old age. While I'm sure Dracula isn't actually a real vampire, there are other ways around his legend. With seven Servants and seven Masters, I'm sure my faction will think of something." Folding my previous outfit, I walked out with said clothes in the crook of my arm.

"I'm sure you will," Dad grinned at me. "Anyway, in the time you have been in Baile Herculane, the Red Faction have begun summoning their Servants and the last master is already on route."

"Do you know who it is?" I raised a brow.

"Kairi Sisigou, you remember him. He helped your mother back in New Mexico."

"Yeah," I nodded. "I did a job with him recently too. Remember Castle Dullahan? He was one of the freelancers hired to help deal with that mess."

"Ah yes, Castle Dullahan," Dad's expression turned pensive, "Give him my regards when you see him. On the topic of the Clocktower, have you contacted the Queen about your participation in the Grail War?"

"I tried to contact her directly," I shrugged, "but apparently she's on a hunt for one of the Dead Apostle Ancestors right now."

"Oh?" Dad raised a brow. "Any idea which one?"

"No idea," I shrugged again. "You know how their employees are, just as stiff as her."

Dad choked on his laughter, trying to cover it. While he was more frivolous with his behavior, he still respected the Vice-Director like every other mage. Not that I didn't respect my boss myself, I knew she could kick my ass seven ways to Sunday and back if she wanted to, but that didn't mean I wasn't willing to call her out on the stick up her ass. Maybe that's why she oversaw my education and hired me into her task force straight out. "Oh, I'll leave all my familiars here for you and Mom. With Archer, having them will just be an unnecessary pull on my mana reserves."

Dad nodded absently, his mind somewhere else from the looks of it. After a moment of silence, a serious expression fell over his face as he walked over and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Listen, I know I can't persuade you to forget this Greater Holy Grail War nonsense, but be careful, Faelan. I lost my grandfather to those damnable wars, I don't want to lose a son to them as well."

"You won't," I replied, "not with Atalanta by side."

"Atalanta, eh?" Dad's grin became sly again. "Not Archer?"

"I'm leaving." Rolling my eyes, I stuffed my old clothes in the backpack and took the bag by its shoulder straps while grabbing the rifle case and slung it over one shoulder.

"C'mon, you've never come to me about advice about girls before, let me do my fatherly duties and impart knowledge to you!"

"No!"

…

Atlanta glared at the mother of Lin with a rather red face. The three of them weren't even in the room for five minutes before Aella turned to her with a rather sly grin that the Servant did not particularly like. And then, said mother then asked a question that caused her current embarrassment and mortification.

Which was; "Atalanta, dear, tell me. Do you like Faelan?"

How in the name of the gods is this woman the mother of such a sweet child?

She was starting to regret being in her physical form when Lin woke up the day after she was summoned. If she was still unknown to Lin, she could've just dematerialized into her spirit form, unseen to everyone but her Master. That way, she could avoid her Master's mother. Eyeing Lin, who was looking at the two of them in confusion as she gnawed on a cookie, the Archer Servant coughed into her fist before smiling politely.

"Of course, Faelan is indeed my friend, so I would like him."

If it was possible, Aella's grin became more mischievous. If not vicious.

"No, no. I mean, do you like-like him?"

Lin gasped as she looked over to the two-toned haired Servant. "Do you like-like Fae, Atalanta?" she asked excitedly. "Oh, if you and Fae get married, does that mean you'll become my sister?!"

On the outside, the only evidence of Atalanta's embarrassment was her still red face and she was congratulating herself over the fact. On the inside, she was curling in on herself and trying to find a way to not exist. She knew Lin's reaction was the one that the child's mother was trying to draw out from the adorable four-year-old.

"Please, Atalanta, marry Fae so you can be my sister!" Lin begged, her bright eyes staring up at the Servant.

Atalanta tried to hide her grimace at how uncomfortable she was feeling.

"Who's going to be who's sister?"

Thankfully, for Atalanta, the two turned their attention from the green-brown haired huntress and to the door to see Faelan, dressed in new clothes, looking at them with a brow raised. Behind the young man, Galen looked just as curious as his son.

"It's nothing," Atalanta shook her head.

"Fae, if you marry Atalanta, would that make her my sister?" Lin bounded over to her brother and beamed brightly at him. "I want Atalanta to be my sister, so can you marry her so she can be?"

Atalanta's face began to heat up again while Faelan stared at his sister, who had become both dumbfounded and embarrassed by his sister's question. Of course, with the innocent way Lin asked her question, there was no way Faelan could get mad at her like he would've if his parents asked the same question.

"You know, I wouldn't mind having Atalanta as a daughter-in-law," Aella chimed in.

Both Master and Servant turned to the Master's mother with still red faces, glaring at the Ashford family matriarch.

"Indeed," Galen nodded with his own sly smirk, "a girl like you will keep our Faelan here in line, Atalanta."

"I am so sorry for my parents," Faelan said to his Servant, as he pinched the bridge of his nose, his tone reflecting how exhausted he was from his parents' antics.

"It is fine," Atalanta sighed, rubbing her forehead. Taking in a deep breath, she looked to Faelan and raised a brow at the new bags on his person. "Are you going somewhere, Faelan?"

"We are, yes," he nodded.

"You're going somewhere?" Lin frowned.

Kneeling in front of her, Faelan gave her a regretful smile. "Yeah, something came up at work and I have to go and help fix it."

"But you were supposed to go on vacation with me," Lin's features downturned as she got upset. "I don't see you a lot anymore…"

"I know, Lin, and I'm sorry," I put a hand atop her head. "I guess I'm a bad big brother."

"No!" she shook her head resolutely." You're the best big brother ever!" She then turned to Atalanta. "Atalanta, can you go with Fae? So he can be done with work faster? Then he can come back and we all can have fun again!"

Unknown to the little girl, everyone hid sighs of relief. If Lin insisted that Atalanta stay with her, trying to explain her disappearance after would be difficult. And Atalanta did not want to break the little girl's heart.

"Of course," Atalanta smiled down at the child. "Your brother would be lost without me."

"I wouldn't go that far," Faelan grumbled.

"And yet, who was the one who forgot their wallet while we were on the train?" Atalanta raised a brow at him. "If I wasn't observant enough to have seen your wallet on the nightstand, I wouldn't have brought it myself, and Lin and I would've been forced to wait, hungry mind you, while you went back to the room to get it."

Shoulders slumped, he looked away grumpily while his parents watched on in amusement.

"You sure you don't want to marry my son?" Aella grinned.

"Mom!"

…

On a train to Sighisoara, I was looking up geographical and topographical maps of Trifas on my laptop. Of course, I was already somewhat familiar with them from when I looked them up on the trip to Baile Herculane but it never hurt to be too careful. Beside me, I could see Atalanta looking at me with a brow raised from the corner of my eye. She had remained in her corporeal form for Lin's sake when we got onto the train. However, the Archer apparently saw no reason to go into her spiritual form when I asked, and to be honest, neither did I.

"Have you not studied those maps enough, Faelan?" she asked, arms crossed.

"Mmm, you can't be too careful, Atalanta," I shrugged, keeping my eyes on the computer screen. "As a huntress, you should know the value in knowing the lay of the land."

"Indeed, I do," I saw her nod, "however, I also know that a tired mind is one that can make many mistakes. I understand that the trip to Baile Herculane was originally intended for you to rest, despite what eventually happened. But you should take advantage of this calm before the War properly starts."

I blinked at her, staring at her rather stubborn frown for a moment before. Shaking my head in a modicum of amusement accompanied by a smile that tugged at my lips, I moved the mouse to shut down my laptop before closing it. "I guess you do care," I chuckled as I leaned back against my seat.

"Lin asked me to help you finish your "work" so that you can go back to your family," Atalanta shrugged with a fond smile. "I would be remiss if I did not ensure your mental well-being so that you and I can win this War so that you can go back home. I cannot ignore such a favor from your sister."

"You know when she asked that, she also included you when she said we," I sighed as I looked up at the train's ceiling. Atalanta grew quiet. "To be honest, I don't know what I'm gonna say when I come back without you."

"We will win, Master," Atalanta said, trying to be positive. "If I cannot grant the wish of one child, then I cannot ask the Holy Grail of my wish."

A moment of silence fell upon us and it was then my curiosity of what my Servant's wish is, had exceeded capacity. She had kept silent on the topic of it, or rather, she was being evasive about it. At first I thought it was something horrifying, but watching her interact with Lin over the past few days, I dismissed that thought. But it must be something really personal to her, maybe something that never came up in her legend.

"If you don't mind me asking, Atalanta, what is your wish?" I asked quietly.

"I…" she hesitated for a moment, her brow furrowing as if debating whether or not to answer the question, or perhaps wrestling with herself as to how to word it. "I wish for all children in the world to be saved, to be loved and cherished, just like how Lin is. That is my wish for the Holy Grail."

I was quiet for a moment. Such a wish was a great one, but I also knew it was a fool's dream, in fact, it was also an impossible one. Like world peace. For if Atalanta's dream were to be achieved, it would also alter human behavior as a whole in a way that conflicted with humanity in a significant way. There are people in the world who are not fit to be parents and there are those who would simply abandon a child for one reason or another. Magus families were guilty of that, sending second-born children to other families simply because there could only be one heir, abandoning them to the world because one sibling was weaker than the other. Or worse, killing them outright if there weren't any other avenues available, or they thought they were doing the child a favor. Met some of those types before while attending a pointless party held by a noble for finding and being in possession of a long-lost Noble Phantasm, not that the idiot knew he was holding a fake…

Atalanta's wish was well-intentioned, it was on the level with a wish of a Saint in Christian faith. What decent person wouldn't want the children of the world to be loved and cherished? And not exposed to things like war, being forced to become soldiers at a young age, sex trafficking. But again, such a wish altered too much on an indiscriminate scale, leaving too many unknown variables.

"I see," I said as I turned my head to face her properly.

"Is that all you have to say?" she accused, almost coldly. "You and your family wish for your sister's happiness so intently that you have delayed her training in your family's magecraft. She is young, yes, but should she not be exercising her magical circuits in preparation for her life as a magus at the very least?"

A low blow, but a valid point. Given Lin's way above average circuit quality, the smallest of spells she would begin performing once she began her training would no doubt frustrate her for they would most undoubtedly fail. Her problem would not be the amount of mana used in her spells like most magus children. Instead, it would be the control over them, since she would have no idea of how much of her mana she would need to use in her spells, she will overload all of her spells until she completes several mana control exercises. And given our family's magecraft in Noble Phantasms, which most of the time works with metal, an overloaded spell could result in the hunk of metal becoming a grenade and sending shrapnel everywhere.

And yes, it has happened before. That's why I don't have any aunts or uncles on Dad's side of the family anymore.

"What is wrong with my wish?" Atalanta demanded as she gritted her teeth. "Is it wrong to ask? Is it so frivolous that such a concept isn't even worth considering?!"

"No," I shook my head as my heart felt like there were claws trying to stab it, "your wish is not wrong. Every child deserves the world from us who came before. They deserve to play with others with no fear of rejection, to go to sleep with full bellies instead of hunger, to feel the love of their parents and their families and not anyone's scorn." I paused. "They don't deserve to be tortured or abused," I whispered quietly, but I knew she heard it given her small gasp.

I closed my eyes for a moment, trying in vain to stave off the horrible memories, before looking at my Servant whose green eyes were wide. "Children deserve to be loved till the moment they leave off on their own to make their way in the world. But we both know that sometimes it never happens. Some kids are thrown uncaringly into the world, becoming stronger for it or they are swallowed by the pain and suffering they are subjected to."

"Master… no, Faelan..." Atalanta slowly reached out to me, "were you…"

I took her hand, stopping her from reaching out, and placed it on the armrest between us. The way she flinched, I might as well have slapped her face. Her wish hit home in a way I would rather forget and keep buried. Again, it wasn't wrong, her wish. In fact, if I were ten years younger, I would have wholeheartedly agreed with her and would've worked to help achieve her dream. But as an Enforcer and as a Magus, even one that rarely practiced his family's magecraft, I was also a realist.

"Humanity is just not capable of such a wonderful wish," I said quietly..

I saw her bite her lip in vexation. No doubt someone else had already told her of how futile her wish was and likewise, she had no doubt raised her arguments against their claims. But I doubt there was someone who was a victim of torture and abuse as a child who told her the same. Rather stiffly, she rose from her seat and moved to the room door, slipping through it, and slammed the door rather harshly.

Wincing warily, I looked at the door she left through, and idly I couldn't help but wonder why she just didn't go into spirit form to leave. No doubt she was just that upset, but still. Sighing at myself, I pulled the backpack Dad gave me and opened one of its pockets to check on its contents to distract myself. I was aware that nothing I said would calm Atalanta down, well besides a Command Seal, but I wasn't a prick to do that. No, the best thing for both of us was to be away from each other for some time until we both calmed down.

Inside the backpack was something that the Clocktower had never seen and only a select few individuals outside of my family knew that this thing was still around. And an even fewer number besides my parents knew that I had it. As a Greater Grail War, this one would undoubtedly surpass the Third Holy Grail War that caused the one I was in now and if things were to become dire. This would help me keep things in my favor. As long as I kept it hidden up my sleeve.

AN: Yeah... things just got awkward and heavy for our favorite Master-Servant duo.

And yes, Faelan was kidnapped twice as a child for nefarious reasons. One in a vain attempt to summon Gilgamesh out of a Grail War and the second, well, I don't want to spoil it as it does explain a few things about Faelan that will be relevant later.

The funny thing was, early versions of Faelan's past wasn't like this. Early versions of Faelan, let's call him Prototype Faelan, was supposed to be an adopted kid of Kairi Sisigou who managed to survive the Sisigou crest implantation process that killed the adopted daughter he had before, but since Proto-Faelan got the crest, the daughter survived. Prototype Faelan would then take Kairi's place as a Master and summon Mordred and it was going to be a character switch out from there. But then I thought that would be too lazy and basically be a retelling of the Fate Apocrypha story.

And yes, I understand that it may feel rushed that I'm bringing up Atalanta's wish this early instead of bringing it up during the Jack the Ripper arc. But fair warning, Faelan and Atalanta won't be there for that fight, I have something else in mind for them.

Next week's week chapter will end the prologue arc and the Grail War for the Greater Grail will officially start.