Remaining Days: 1
It was well past midnight when we returned from the Arena last night. Without any injuries, all we brought back home was a big plus to our funds and a lot of fatigue. I overexerted myself with all the Code Cast uses and barely had the strength left to stand, much less walk on my own. Luckily, Saber supported me on the way back to the dorm.
"You need to be more aware of your limits, Master," was what Saber told me on the way.
Though she didn't seem disappointed at all. Nor mad. If I had to guess, it felt more like Saber was in some way proud of me, or something along those lines. At the very least I didn't go far enough to actually lose consciousness, but at the same time I went as far as my body would allow, just for the sake of honing my skills.
Obviously it didn't take me long to fall asleep, I didn't even change into the pajamas last night.
"Master," I hear Saber's voice, a little softer than normally. "Master, it's time to get up."
"Mmnh?"
It takes me a moment to wake up enough to form a coherent thought, or be able to formulate a proper sentence.
"What time is it?"
I sit up in bed and cover my yawning mouth. Normally I'm much more of a morning person, but today, for some reason, I'm feeling sluggish. It's probably the tension and packed schedule catching up to me now on a relatively free day.
Free of set responsibilities, that is. There's still preparations left to do, of course, but at the very least, there's no strict schedule, such as classes taking up the better part of my waking time. This Holy Grail War would be a lot less stressful if every day was free to spend like this.
"It's 11:30," Saber tells me.
That late!? Geez. It's practically noon…
"Sorry, I'll get ready."
Saber sits on her bed, waiting for me to get ready. Although she only expressed disinterest so far, she picks up the book on Astolfo's life and seems to skim through it a bit while I make my way to the bathroom to take a shower. A hot shower is just the thing I need to freshen up my mind.
Besides, I've sloppily slept in my school uniform, so it's all wrinkled and surely a little sweaty now. But I've noticed that any clothes you'd put in the laundry basked in the bathroom will be as good as new within about five minutes.
I assume that the Moon Cell saves itself the trouble of simulating a washing machine, drying wet clothes and all the related matters. That simplification is much appreciated, but it does make me wonder by what merits it decides which process is to be simplified and doesn't need to be reconstructed accurately in cyberspace and what things really have to be included.
For my part, I don't think sweating is a bodily function needed here, neither is hunger. Though maybe keeping a regular schedule for meals helps one's psyche, and hunger is the best way to assure Masters will stick to such habits. That would make sense.
Yeah, there probably are reasons behind most if not all decisions this world is carefully crafted with, whether I personally can grasp them at all or not.
Getting back out of the bathroom fully dressed, only my hair still just a little bit damp, Saber is still focused on the book.
"You thought that little fool was a girl, didn't you?"
Ugh. Suddenly she cares after all? Why bring it up now?
"Of course I did. Rider looks like a young girl in every way, doesn't he? How could I have known?"
Saber simply browses the book more, clearly amused.
"How did you know, anyway? Do you personally know him or something?"
If Saber was another one of those Twelve Paladins of Charlemagne — or Charlemagne, I suppose? — then obviously Saber would've known all along. But wouldn't it be just a little bit too convenient a coincidence? And kind of awful!?
Rider proved time and time again that he's completely unreliable when it comes to keeping any secret. If they know each other, Shinji would've known Saber's true name way before me, ever since our first meeting. Though in that case, I suppose Rider would've told me, too.
"For a king, being a good judge of people is crucial," Saber comments.
"You're a king?"
She's kidding, right? But there is probably no small number of kings who are rather cold and practical, I'm sure that it would benefit their kingdom in various way to have such a cool-headed, rational king.
"That I am. Or rather, was."
I'm not exactly sure how to take those news. I know Servants are important people from history and myth, living legends in a way, but talking to a king as if she was a normal person? That feels just wrong on so many levels. It feels like everything I did so far was a major offense, and death the appropriate sentence.
"Now I'm a Servant and you're my Master. That's all there is to it," Saber states, clearly aware of my unease. "Are you ready to head out now?"
If that's how Saber sees it, it should be fine to keep treating her just as I have before. Of course. It's quite the shock, sure, but in the end, Saber is still the same Saber who's been by my side all this week. Who she was, or what she did, doesn't change who she is to me.
It's only natural to be surprised at such a reveal, to reconsider one's feelings and thoughts for a moment, but in the end, it shouldn't matter.
"Yeah, let's go train some more. After lunch, though it feels more like breakfast now."
"Let's not overdo it, though. Resting before tomorrow is just as important."
"Hmm… Then how about we'll stay in the Arena until about sunset?"
Even if one of us gets hurt, that should be enough time for most wounds to heal as long as we stay in our room; just in case, of course.
"Sounds good."
So first, we go to the cafeteria. There are a few other Masters and even some Servants, though I can't really find anyone I know. The atmosphere feels really tense, though. Whereas Saber and I seem a lot more relaxed, maybe even a bit carefree, the others here are anything but that.
It's not strange at all, of course. After all, tomorrow is the day of the Elimination Battle. Tomorrow, half of all Masters here will die; and for all of us, the chance to die isn't low at all. It varies with how strong the opponent is, but overall you could say in a lot of cases it's probably more or less a coin flip.
Personally, I'm not all that confident that we'll surely beat Shinji. I've been aware all week that it's either him or me; either I die or I kill him. I don't want to die, and I'll cling to life with all I have and more. I don't want to worry about dying, I'm aware of my life hanging by a threat. Instead, I want to focus on surviving and making it through this hell.
I follow Saber's example and buy a cheeseburger, while she gets two of them. I bite my tongue, I shouldn't criticize her appetite. Much less if she's the one more physically involved in battling.
"Do you want a dessert, too?" I ask her.
"No need. I've never had much of a sweet tooth."
"I see."
I'm considering to get one for myself anyway and decide on the swiss roll cake that looks just too good to pass up on. Going into a life-or-death battle the next day feels a lot lighter after such a blessed meal.
Saber and I find a free table and sit down, eating our lunch in silence. I understand quickly why Saber is so fond of them, they taste really good — though I don't think this cafeteria carries any food that isn't tasty. It must be easy to provide delicious meals when everything's just virtual, but I'm still happy about it.
"Oh? Carefree, aren't you, Kamiyoshi?"
I turn around to find Rin, hands in her hips, eying me and Saber.
"So that's your Servant, huh?"
Ah. Crap. Rin Tohsaka is the last person who should've had any contact with Saber, but I should've known this would happen sooner or later, with us coming to the cafeteria once a day at least for a meal.
No use crying over spilled milk, though. What happened, happened. At the very least, Saber's class can't really be deduced from just seeing her in her black dress, not even her armor materialized.
At least I hope not even Rin can make much of this.
"Are you here for lunch as well?" I ask her.
Saber seems uninterested in having a conversation with a fellow Master, especially one who isn't our current opponent. Or maybe she just values her lunch over the conversation she could have with Rin.
"Picking up some food, yeah. I'm not so stupid to just hang out in the open with my Servant like that."
There's the jab. I expected something along those lines, so I'm not surprised anymore.
"I see."
Normally, I would love to ask her to join us for lunch, but she already made it pretty clear that she'd rather stay by herself with her Servant somewhere. Maybe the rooftop? Or her dorm room.
For some reason, her eyes seem a little fixated on the roll cake.
"Do you want a bite?"
I ask without thinking about the situation. It was a reflex. Just a reflex! It's normal to offer a bite of food to someone who seems interested, isn't it?
Rin's cheeks, however, take on a slightly pink color, and her expressions morphs into an offended one, as if I just insulted her whole bloodline; ancestors and future descendants alike.
"Why would I want to waste calories on something with no nutritional value, idiot!? Not everyone can be as careless as you!"
She turns around and stomps off to the counter, clearly frustrated.
… so calories and nutrition does matter here after all? Or is that just a habit of Rin, being careful about her diet? Maybe I should ask an NPC about this the next chance I get. Sakura comes to mind immediately, as the school's nurse she would know, I'd assume.
After the meal, we make our way to the Arena, repeating yesterday's work, but a bit more efficiently. Not only do the Enemy Programs respawn in the general same area, but it only takes a few rounds to figure out a decent path that lets us do nothing but walk, encounter Enemy Program, engage in battle, move on.
It's a loop that's highly repetitive, I can tell Saber is getting bored by going through the same motions, but she diligently pushes on.
"We can do about four more," I tell Saber. They're all on our way back to the entrance, too.
heal(16);
I hold out my hand in Saber's general direction and run the Code Cast without too much focus, something that works pretty well by now. Depending on the situation, especially if Saber is in what's too unpredictable movement for me, I fail the targeting too often still, but there's improvement.
Saber, too, seems pleased with my development.
Back at school, the sunset dyes the school's hallways a beautiful orange.
"I'll go to the infirmary for a bit," I tell Saber, who's accompanying me invisibly again.
As I pass the stairs, hearing steps, I turn towards them to find Rin yet again.
"Kamiyoshi?"
Rin, too, seems surprised to see me again. Judging by how she's coming from the higher floor, she's probably really been spending time on the rooftop. I wonder if for someone like Rin, all those hours of training aren't that necessary, and they can get by with less?
Though I can't really draw any conclusions here. It's not like I'm stalking Rin Tohsaka, so obviously I can't know how she's spending her days.
"I've been training in the Arena until now," I explain, though she didn't even ask.
Rin walks down the last few steps and stands in front of me. We're roughly the same height, but the heels of her boots help her to be able to slightly look down into my face. I wonder if she wears them for such reasons, just to get a bit of a height advantage.
"Oh? You're more diligent than I expected."
Yet again, I'm not sure if she's praising me for being a hard worker, or insulting me by letting me know she took me as a slacker.
"I'm not planning to lose," I tell her.
That's the one thing I'm determined about, and nothing will change that.
"Hmm," Rin hums, almost sounding pleased. "There's only so much growing you can do in such limited time, though. Matou is an idiot, but not a pushover. Good luck for your battle tomorrow, you'll need it."
Rin walks off towards the school's entrance, waving at me as she walks past me.
"Good luck to you, too, Rin," I tell her. Not that she needs it.
Now for the actually important matter. I head straight for the infirmary, no other distractions.
The infirmary is empty as always, no one but Sakura here. She is next to the window, watching the sunset. Can AI appreciate the beauty of a sunset, too, I wonder? Or is she simply programmed to act like she does?
In the end, I don't think it matters much which of those options it is.
"Sakura, do you have a moment?"
"Kamiyoshi? Sure. Though your vitals look fine, you're in perfect shape. So is your Servant."
She's clearly confused what I'd possibly want from her. Well, it makes sense…
"I was wondering — do Masters need to stick to a healthy diet here? Do things like calories and stuff matter?"
"What a strange question…" Sakura comments before giggling. "No, those things don't matter. You can eat as much as you like of what you like. The important thing is to eat meals in the first place, they are all processed in the same way for your energy replenishment."
That's a relief. Not just a relief, a blessing. I could eat a whole cake and be fine. That's great news!
Though it makes Rin's vehement refusal even more mind-boggling than it already was. She clearly wanted that cake roll, why didn't she just taste it, or even buy her own?
"Was that all you needed?"
"Actually…"
Now that I'm here, I'd like to know one thing. I have the time to spare anyway.
"Are AIs like you assigned to a class as well?"
I know some of the teachers are AI, while others are Masters. So it would only be logical for some of the students to be NPCs as well, right?
"Yes, of course. I'm in class 1-A, though I have to spend all my time in the infirmary, so I don't actually take classes."
"Class 1-A, huh. So you're my kouhai."
Somehow that feels just right. Sakura has this kouhai feeling to her for some reason. But the other thing is sad. Maybe an AI like her doesn't care about these things, but… Being stuck by yourself in the infirmary the whole time? Not even being able to go to class to meet others? That sounds just awful.
"That's true. You are my senpai, Kamiyoshi." Sakura seems to ponder something for a bit. "Would you prefer me call you 'Senpai' rather than by your name?"
… where did that come from? Well, I suppose she might have been programmed to act this way. It's possibly that it makes people less apprehensive being called Senpai. For me, it doesn't really matter either way.
"If you'd like. I don't mind."
"All right, Senpai. Are there any more questions?"
I could probably think of a lot more questions to ask Sakura. About NPCs, the Holy Grail War, her duty in the infirmary… But for now, I think this is good enough. I'm sure even NPCs have something like a sleep mode, and I don't want to keep her from hers.
"No, that was all. Thank you, Sakura. You're a big help, as always."
"Oh, no… That's just my duty. I'm not doing anything special, Senpai."
I tell her good night and leave for the dormitory. This late there's no other Masters around, it seems, making the short way from the school building to the dormitory feel kind of eerie. As though one could be attacked at any moment and there would be no witness, no one to help.
But that's completely stupid. Saber is by my side at all times, even if I can't see her. Besides, it's not even dark yet.
Back in the dorm room, my terminal beeps, signaling a message.
# SERAPH NOTICE
# Hakuno Kamiyoshi — Shinji Matou
# The Elimination Battle will be held at 12:30.
# You will be expected to be at the Elevator no later than that to enter the Coliseum.
The battles are scheduled to time slots, huh? Makes sense. It would be pretty annoying if you show up to yours early in the morning, but your opponent waits until late in the evening to bother making their way to the battle.
I set the terminal's alarm early enough to leave no way to miss the battle. I'll read a bit more in some of the books, as knowledge is power, and try to come up with a few strategies that I'd like to go over with Saber tomorrow morning. I won't stay up too late, I'm well aware that it's important to rest properly.
But honestly… I'm not sure how easily I'll be able to fall asleep. I may have been calm all day, but the nervousness is starting to creep up on me now after all. I hope I'll be able to get enough sleep.
I only get one chance for the Elimination Battle, and to survive to the next round.