Chapter 1 / There Will Be Some Readjustments To My Normal Days
A few days had passed, leaving everything about my battle, or rather Meleager's battle, behind us and resolved, although I still haven't wrapped my head around the finer details of the results. It was bothersome to even begin to imagine what type of complications had evolved outside of my control, but I did understand what I had to do.
My parents never suspected a thing that day. When I came home with Shiro, they were told that the entire overnight trip was a sleepover at Eriko's house, since we were "helping out" with a project with her father. I mean, it wasn't exactly a lie, technically speaking. Also, Shiro's memories were apparently altered by Eriko's father in order to uphold that excuse and while there were some holes here and there, her father said it would have been fine if we didn't freely bring it up.
Not that I want to bring up what happened.
Having my emotions be influenced by Meleager this entire time wasn't exactly the most exciting thing to learn. Ever since then, I couldn't exactly look straight at Archer because it would leave a bad taste in my mouth. Any sort of relationship we had, whether as acquaintances or partners, had a wrench thrown into it and now, I have no idea what to think about it. I'm not even sure what Archer thinks about it and frankly, I feel like I don't want to know.
I wanted to forget all about this Holy Grail War and return back to my normal days, but…
"Hey, kid. Aren't you supposed to be waking up now?"
"Go to hell, bastard."
"I've already been there, you know."
As the sun's rays snuck through my blinds, the light hadn't been the only thing hitting my face. A cat's paw slapped against my cheek, pushing with as much might as possible. Unfortunately, a cat's leg doesn't have much pushing strength to begin with, so it ended up being rather annoying.
This cat would have been my pet, Kuko, but given the turn of events, that was no longer the case.
The Heroic Spirit Meleager had taken residence inside of Kuko, freely controlling my cat as he pleased. He released himself inside of me during the fight with Saber, putting significant stress on my body, so in order to ensure I wouldn't die, Eriko's father split up Meleager's consciousness and power into Kuko and myself respectively. This made Melager's power inside of me rest dormant again, but if Meleager's consciousness somehow returned to me, my body wouldn't be able to handle the pressure.
At least, that's what I've been told.
Admittedly, I… have no idea who Meleager was. That thought passed by me as I was brushing my teeth and if these Servants were supposed to be those from history or mythology, I should be able to figure out who they are all from a quick search on my phone.
The results returned to me, informing me of Meleager as a prince from Ancient Greece. He was also a hunter and a warrior, leading him to be mainly known for his achievements during something called the Quest for the Golden Fleece and the Calydonian Boar Hunt. However, there was also one more thing that Meleager was known for, tying deeply to the manner in which he died.
"Kurogane? Breakfast is ready."
"Big Bro, we're having omelets!"
Since I left the door open, Archer popped in with Shiro to come fetch me. As always, Shiro still had her upbeat energy around her, but she was completely oblivious to the strained tension between Archer and I. Although, it wasn't any of our faults it ended up like this, but for Shiro's sake, I smiled and mumbled through the toothpaste that I'd heading over in a minute.
Ever since we returned from the manor, Archer and I haven't been talking much. No, I suppose it's better to say that I've been avoiding her as much as possible. My feelings on the entire subject have certainly complicated and even after a few days have gone by, I still haven't gotten any closer to understanding myself.
It's all Meleager's fault. Apparently, Archer had already berated Meleager countless times throughout these past days, but his mood hasn't changed too much. Unlike Archer, who has been respecting my decision to stay quiet around her, Meleager kept sticking to me while bothering me about the situation. I couldn't say what kinds of subjects he goes on about, since I do my best to ignore him.
As I rinsed out the toothpaste, I glanced back to my phone.
"... Atalanta, huh?"
Considering that Meleager seemed affectionate towards Archer, I can assume that was Archer's real name, but my hand gripped onto my phone tightly in a spiteful taste. It wouldn't be fair to Archer if I asked about it, let alone say her name at all, so I decided to keep calling her Archer for now.
Today was supposed to be my offday from work along with Archer, but after breakfast, I realized I needed something to keep these problems off my mind as I lounged in my room. Work was the only thing keeping myself active these last few days, letting me focus on anything other than the Holy Grail War. Although, it was difficult when I had a remainder of it on my hand.
Only two of the three red marks remained there. I wondered if I simply used up both of them, I'd forfeit my position as Master and leave the Holy Grail War for good. I would be going back on my word with Archer, but in the first place, I wasn't in the right state of mind when I said it.
"Thinking of taking the coward's way out?"
"I didn't ask for your opinion, Meleager."
Meleager snuck into my room and leapt up on my desk. He licked his paw, probably due to the mannerisms of a cat wiring into his consciousness, as his tail slid from side to side. I pulled myself up, grumbling at the sound of his voice.
My parents and my sister couldn't hear Meleager's voice, so I assumed it was the same for everyone else. Without being influenced by magecraft or whatever, they could only hear the sound of Kuko's meowing. Although, they did mention that Kuko was meowing more than usual and I'm pretty sure they would think I was going crazy if I was having conversations with the family cat.
… Wait, wasn't I already making small talk with Kuko before?
"You're the one who pulled me into this. And besides, you said that I can't retire from the Holy Grail War because I do, then you'll return back to the Throne of Heroes and leave my body back into the state where Saber had stabbed me. I'm guessing that using up my Command Seals count as well."
"Oh, I was thinking that you might wanted to kill yourself to hide from the responsabilities here."
"That you pushed onto me, I should add," I growled. "I still have a normal life that's waiting for me to return here. I can't be throwing my life away so carelessly like that."
"Good to hear that we're on the same boat."
"What even is your problem anyways?"
A genuine question from my spite emerged. It wasn't as if Meleager wanted to be stuck inside of me in the first place. Due to an incident during my childhood, involving an early meeting with Eriko that I could only remember in bits and pieces, Meleager got summoned into my body, albeit in a dormant state. He only woke up recently due to the reconnection to the Throne of Heroes through Archer's summoning.
"My problem? All I'm doing is making the best of my situation."
"And that's using my body how you please, giving me an ultimatum to help Archer?"
"All I want to do is help Archer achieve her wish from the Holy Grail War."
"Seems like a crude way to go about it."
"I'm a Greek hero, not a saint. I'll do what it takes." Meleager leapt from the table to my bed, getting pretty close to strangling distance. However, I held off, knowing that I'd be hurting Kuko as well. "Besides, I don't plan on simply throwing you to the lions and leaving you to do whatever. If you want things to go by easier for yourself, you're going to have to train yourself."
"Oh, thanks," I responded sarcastically.
When I was training with Archer, things didn't go too smoothly. I don't know what Meleager had in mind when it came to the goal of my training, but after seeing what Saber was capable of, I don't think any amount of training could prepare me for a fight with a Servant. Forget about Eriko's father as well, I was basically a rag doll in his hands, and if all the other Masters were as strong as him, I didn't stand a chance, no matter how much training I had.
"Since you have a break from your work today, we can start immediately."
"I'll pass."
"H-hey!"
I slumped down onto my bed as Melager flinched at my immediate response. Did he really think I'd be willing to do whatever he says? I was already controlled by his influence for a week or so, and that was already enough to last me a lifetime.
"Kid!" I felt Meleager's paws pounding against me. I'm glad we had Kuko's nail cut before this entire incident occurred, since I'm fairly certain Meleager would be scratching at me otherwise. "C'mon! We don't have time to spare! I'll go light on you, unlike what my own teacher did for me!"
"The only thing that's keeping me from going insane is the fact that I have another objective as a Master," I grumbled. "I don't have anything to gain by helping you in the Holy Grail War, but I can still have a way to assist in keeping the city safe from the disappearances through Archer."
"Then do it for that!"
"Eriko's father already said I didn't need to get directly involved. Saber's pretty strong anyways, and seems far more manageable for Eriko to handle than whatever you're up to."
"Don't just rely on that bastard!"
"Why? Because he beat you in front of Archer?"
"Don't say it like that! He simply got lucky!"
My door opened up as we bickered with one another. Archer came in, as if she felt like we were in another one of our own arguments. Silence took us over immediately, for one reason or another, without her saying a thing, but a second set of footsteps came behind her.
"Hey, Kuro. Are you holding up alright?"
Eriko popped her head in, as I pulled myself up from my bed. I haven't bothered to clean up my room, so it was slightly unwelcoming for a guest to come in. She hadn't been wearing her glove today, probably because there wasn't any reason to hide her identity as Saber's Master around me.
"It could have been better."
"I know it's a bit hard to do anything with these circumstances, but my father is requesting that you come meet up with us. He left you to have things settle down on your end, but he wants to get started on the investigation of the disappearances as soon as possible."
"... Fine. Let's head off."
It wasn't as if I'd be doing anyone any favors if I held off for any longer.
I grabbed Meleager by the collar and lifelessly tossed him over to Archer to hold on for a moment. He looked like he enjoyed the company, until Archer dragged him out of the room by his collar, most likely choking him enough to make the entire experience as unpleasant as possible. Her reprimands for bothering me for the last few days seem to haven't gotten through to him yet.
I quickly got changed and headed out with Eriko over to the Mihoji Forest, alongside Archer and Meleager. Never in a million years would I think that I'd be casually returning here, but as it would stand, the Mihoji Forest was actually a ruse created by Eriko's father in order to keep people away from the manor. He had an actual home somewhere else, leaving this area for his private research and experiments, but it was left untouched for the majority of the last few years. He was thinking of tearing down the manor, but once the disappearances started to occur, the situation prompted him to pull his magecraft knowledge out one last time.
We arrived at the manor where Eriko's father had been waiting. He prepared some snacks for us in the living room, but I wasn't blind to the giant blackboard of magnets holding up papers behind him. I should probably call him Mister Inaba from here on out, since that was Eriko's family name.
Mister Inaba cracked a window open to let fresh air into the room before sitting down with everyone else. "I appreciate you for coming here, Kurogane."
"I'm making the best of my situation. If I can help out in solving this case, then I'll be willing to do what it takes."
"Making a change of tune here…" Meleager mumbled to the side.
"You stay quiet," Archer dismissed. "You haven't done anything to make this any better, so refrain from speaking any comments unless referred to.
"Yes, dearest…"
I'm thankful that Archer has such an iron grip on Meleager. Whenever she isn't around, Meleager goes around doing what he wants, but when she is around, it's like Meleager is completely tamed. His love for her is far more than regular, that's for certain. I suppose he did die for her sake, after all.
Eriko was already nibbling on the snacks as Saber came back into the room with cold water. In a similar vein to Mister Inaba, Saber was wearing a black suit in order to blend himself in with society. Archer's outfit may have been passable to the unsuspecting civilian, but Saber would get attention if he kept wearing his armor everywhere.
"There aren't any lasting injuries, I would take it?" Saber asked me. "You appear to be in the definition of health again."
"At least, physically, I suppose."
"I see. I suppose I spoke out of line."
"No, it's fine."
Having the person, who basically killed me, trying to comfort me is… an interesting experience, to say the least. Whether it was through obligation or command, Saber sounded far more apologetic towards me than Meleager could ever show. He didn't seem like a bad person, when it came down to it. He pushed up his glasses as stood by, allowing Mister Inaba to take the center stage.
"Much of this is confidential information, so I would request that you do not speak of this to others. Although, I suppose no one would take you seriously when considering the magecraft side of things, but that aside, there is certain information that the department withholds from the news."
"As to be expected," I nodded.
Mister Inaba may have dabbled once in magecraft, but it doesn't pay the bills. In reality, he is a police inspector for the Tokuwa District. If he has casual access to all of the information regarding the disappearances, he had to be somewhat high on the ladder, but I never saw him on the news as their spokesperson. He must have been one of the internal workers that doesn't see the cameras often.
"Let us start with a refresher about the disappearances, just in case that during all of this commotion, some details had slipped from your mind."
For the last months, the Tokuwa District had been suffering through an unusual series of disappearances. It constantly made news report headlines every time it occurred, but the police allegedly were no closer to the culprit than they were on day one, but if it was the work of magecraft, this would be for granted. Not many people know about the existence of magecraft, unable to fathom it in a logical and reasonable environment, but if the disappearances were due to that, it only made their jobs harder.
Still though, magecraft should be kept as a secret, so in seeing the evidence that something else might be at play, Mister Inaba took it upon himself to investigate the disappearances on his own time, as someone who was aware of such an existence.
He provided us with reports of every single one of the victims without any redactions applied and while the police reports had claimed there to be no link between the victims, Mister Inaba was already reaching their conclusion.
"All these victims, whether they're aware or not, have high traces of mana inside of them."
"Okay, but why is that important?"
"I once thought that the connection meant that an active magusus was simply present, kidnapping these people for their experiments, but this doesn't appear to be the case. I was actually able to come across an homunculus last month that tried to eliminate me for researching the issue more closely."
"What!?" Eriko slammed her hands on the table. Hearing one's father almost die probably wasn't a settling feeling. "This is news to me!? Are you saying you almost died from meeting one of those things!? And here I thought it was safe to be bait!"
"Bait?"
I recalled on the day of the shopping trip, I noticed Eriko being chased through the streets. This supposed homunculus must have been what had been chasing her, which had been cleanly eliminated by Mister Inaba and Saber once she made it down the alleyway.
Though, that wasn't something I should have been inquiring on.
"Wait, what do you mean by homunculus? What even are those?"
"Artificial humans, to put it simply. However, the ones that are within the Tokuwa District are far from the excellent quality." Mister Inaba, shuffling through some of the other paperwork, was rummaging through his thoughts. I don't think I'd be able to understand those papers, even if he brought me through them, step-by-step. "For now, we should be thankful that they're simply mindless servants to whoever created them, but I worry about their alternative method."
"What about your meeting with this homunculus?" Archer asked, returning the topic around..
"From what you've already seen, I do have experience in the manipulation of memories as a part of my magecraft. While I can alter some memories, I can also read memories as well."
"I feel like that's an invasion of privacy," I blatantly spat.
What would happen if he was able to read through some of the memories that I'd rather not have opened up? I glanced over to Eriko in a panic, perhaps thinking it was inherited.
"No, I'm not involved with anything of my father's bloodline and magecraft."
How did she know I wanted to ask that!? Despite what she said, I have my suspicions that perhaps she really did mean the alternative, but she merely shrugged.
"I don't need my father's techniques to be able to read your expression, Kuro…"
"O-oh…"
"Magecraft does violate many of the common consensus, but for my instance, it is quite limited with the amount of research I was able to do before leaving altogether."
Apparently, the research that Mister Inaba was conducting all those years ago had relation to these memory experiments. In bringing a Heroic Spirit to our world, he wanted to investigate their memories if they were made into a Pseudo-Servant. Specifically, the relation between the vessel's memories and the spirit's memories and while he assumed it became a failure in the past, it actually had its success. However, his origin concept was to use himself as the vessel instead of another unwilling victim. He did sound slightly excited when he kept talking about it, but Eriko, still worried about the unheard-of encounter, got him back on track.
"In any case, my reading abilities are limited. I can merely read what the target themselves actively remembers, and not their subconscious, so it can be quite the blur most times. Many people can't even remember what they ate a few days ago, so it's not particularly a useful category in this manner."
That slight touch about food was making me peckish for the snacks provided. I suppose the soup that my mother made wasn't filling enough for this.
… Wait, we had omelets today. The soup was from yesterday.
I'm proving a great point to Mister Inaba.
"However, the homunculus was able to remember some details, where I discovered their creator was involved with the Holy Grail War. Aside from that, everything else is… a little complicated for you, so I'll spare you the details."
Thank God, I wasn't thinking I could handle another lesson in Underground Wars 101.
"All you have to know is that we're up against someone who knows how to employ homunculus and as such, they know what they're doing. And considering the infrastructure of these homunculus, they can alternatively be used as batteries for a noble phantasm. It may be worth considering that the person behind these disappearances has some serious firepower at their disposal."
"Wait, but isn't Saber one of the strongest Servants available?" I recalled, trying to pull back from what Archer was saying. "We should be good, right?"
"That is, if we know where they are..." Eriko sighed.
"The culprit would know this as well. If Saber has already been summoned, then they must be planning some type of method in dealing with him, however difficult it can be. As it stands, I still have no idea what reason they would need people with high mana if they already have batteries in the form of homunculus…"
"Maybe they're messed-up in the head?" Eriko suggested.
"Insanity and magecraft do occasionally come hand-in-hand…"
"Then should we assume that these people are already dead?"
Meleager's question held no tactfulness in the room, causing Eriko and I to stiffen. He didn't look apologetic about bringing the topic up, nor was he even looking at us since he was simply licking his paws nonchalantly, but Meleager could feel the tension in the air. On the other hand, Mister Inaba hadn't been so shocked, leaning into the paperwork of the missing victims.
"That's correct. If a magus of this demeanor was the one to kidnap them, I can't say for certain that they are still alive by now."
"No way…"
"That's just…"
"That's why our objective here isn't to save these people, but use their disappearances in order to prevent any further cases from happening. As a police inspector, you always have to assume the worst-case scenario when it comes to these types of problems and work off of that."
"What exactly should we do?" Archer asked.
"With your natural movement and detection as an Archer, I suspect that scouting the area is of no difficulty for you, but I'm no fool to not see that a method like that would require absurd luck. However, I do have some places that I'd like Archer to investigate that proved to be difficult to scout for someone like Saber."
Mister Inaba pointed up to the blackboard where a map was already laid out. I wasn't sure what the marked off places were, but it needed no explanation now. "For now, a quick surveillance of these areas will be fine. I managed to determine these places off the blurred memories of the last homunculus I encountered. There are still a few other things I need to confirm before proceeding though."
"Should I ask my dad if you need time off?" I asked Archer.
"It should be fine. I'll act as a scout during the night."
"Right. Servants… don't need sleep."
I glanced away awkwardly, not being able to keep up a conversation with Archer for any longer than that. Any further and I'd feel like I would be forcing myself to talk.
"At the very least, having additional manpower is helpful in the event of direct confrontation. However, if things come to the worst of it, I'd like for Kurogane to be prepared to use Meleager's power for—"
"I won't." I scowled, not bothering to glance back at Meleager. "I don't want anything to do with that guy. The thought of him using my body as he pleases makes me sick."
"Dad. You're being insensitive right now."
"A-am I…?" Mister Inaba took a moment to read my expression, curiously pondering. He had some trouble easily reading me as his daughter did. "I see…"
"But what if you get attacked again?" Meleager mused as he leapt onto the table. I don't think he understood what sanitation meant, as Eriko pushed the snacks away from the cat. "Are you simply going to die, in order to spite me? I already know that you're a coward when it comes to death, so—"
"Meleager. You're not helping the case," Archer firmly said, aggressively grabbing the cat up from the collar. "You must remember that Master is a normal human from this era, not from our time. Death is not something that they face regularly."
"I'm just saying that when it comes to something like that, he'll have to face the reality of his situation," Meleager grumbled, having his paws hanging in the air. "If he wants to survive, he'll have to cooperate with me. Having your body break a bit is a small price for survival."
"I know I'm the one that accidentally got Kuro involved in this," Eriko said, clicking her tongue, "but you've got to understand that it's not exactly easy for him to come to terms with that, especially with the shenanigans you previously pulled on him."
"... Would it be possible for the Master of Archer to wield Meleager's powers without his consciousness interacting with him?"
Saber's genuine question perked up everyone in the room, as Meleager started to panic. It must have been something he was aware of, but didn't want it to come up.
"Actually, that may be possible," Mister Inaba pondered. "After all, it was merely Meleager's consciousness that had been moved over to Kurogane's pet. His powers, albeit currently dormant, still remain within Kurogane himself."
"Wouldn't Kuro's body still suffer from it?"
"That would likely be the case, but considering that Meleager's consciousness isn't properly linked up, there's no manner in which all of his powers can be used otherwise. In other words, I believe that Kurogane may be able to use Meleager's strength to a limited degree without needing to use a Command Seal to summon Meleager back into his body."
"Still," Archer thought, "that would require Master to need to train his body a bit further to withstand some of the pressure." Meleager tried to break out of her iron grip, but it merely made Archer hold on even tighter. "Is there a problem, Meleager?"
"Damn right, there's a problem! Do you really think that I'm going to let this kid use Enyalius however he wants!? It's my family heirloom and the symbol of my pride as the prince of Calydon! How would you feel if someone else started using your Tauropolos!? Even Jason merely hiding your treasured bow caused you to stir up around the Argo in a rampage!"
"No one said anything about using your spear," Archer deadpanned. "As such, you're saying that it is possible for Master to wield it, right?"
"U-ughh…!" Meleager's limbs went limp as he outed himself. "D-damn it…"
"If Meleager has such a problem with it, it's simply possible for Kurogane to use merely his power to reinforce himself for small skirmishes. I will be willing to say, as a first-hand experience, that Kurogane is very fragile in comparison to opponents that we may encounter."
"Wow, geez, thanks," I sarcastically responded.
"You're welcome. I have no issue in bringing up what needs to be addressed for the future."
It would appear that Mister Inaba cannot detect sarcasm.
"Look, Meleager can keep his spear. I'll use whatever little I can to scrape on by."
"That does still require you to train, I presume," Saber added in.
"I can do something about him bringing out his mana in a consistent manner, but I'm afraid I won't be able to imbue him with physical strength. That is something he must work on by himself."
"That's fine. Before our meeting, I was already training Master to some degree, but…"
Archer glanced over to me and while I could feel her subtle stares, I couldn't return the gaze. I think if she did end up training me again, things will only end up awkward. I still haven't figured out how much of my feelings had been influenced by Meleager, after all. The fact of the matter is that he mentioned that he couldn't overlay new emotions and thoughts into me, only being able to amplify emotions and thoughts that we shared in common.
Saber noticed our strained connection with one another and stepped in.
"In that case, Master?"
"Hmm?" Eriko perked up. "Something you want, Saber?"
"I'd like to ask for permission to train the Master of Archer, if they are to be our allies for the foreseeable future. I believe that it will lead to everyone's benefit if I help out here."
"Oh, go ahead. I don't mind."
"Training with Saber, huh…?"
While it wasn't the best idea to have a past opponent be training me, perhaps it would have been the best since he knows what I have to work on. And besides, I think this is for the best if I'm going to be able to sort myself out regarding Archer for someone else to train me.
"Hold on a moment! What the hell is with this!? I'm not letting the kid train with this bastard!" Melager hissed at the Servant, who didn't exactly pay any attention to the interruption. "Hey! Look at me when I'm talking to you! You think you're full of yourself, don't you!? C'mon, bring those hands up! I'm ready for round two, you bastard! This body won't hold me back! I'll show you that you're—!"
Archer immediately tossed Meleager out the open window. Eriko and Mister Inaba blinked blanklessly as she did it without zero hesitation or remorse. He really deserved it. For reference, we were on the second floor, so it wasn't a short drop.
"... Is he going to be alright?" Eriko asked.
"I believe cats can survive heights like these. And added to that, Meleager is very tenacious by his very nature. Even in that form, he'll come crawling back eventually."
Saber continued, pushing up his glasses and ignoring what just happened.
"So, what will it be, Master of Archer?"
And it didn't take too long for me to come to my answer.
"Alright. I'll look forward to your help, Saber."
[Author's Notes]
I'm using some of this chapter to help reorganize some of the information that had previous came up before, but in a neat package. It ends up helping me as well, considering I felt like everything had been somewhat messy in terms of information. In any case, I'm looking to make chapters shorter than in order to reading experiences better in the long run. I've been experimenting with my other story as well, so it might be helpful to get further insight on this perspective.
As for the contents of the chapter themselves, it should be reminded that this story is about Atalanta. However, I would argue that in order to understand Atalanta more, you need to understand the people that had been a part of her life. That was why I felt it was important for Meleager to make an appearance in this story, so while Meleager isn't exactly the most greatest person to be around, I think it might be good for the story to have a little focus on him to understand Atalanta a bit more.
... It helps that he's a cat right now, if I'll be honest.
I've also come to the realization that I've never given Eriko a family name, so Eriko Inaba it is.
