Chapter 29 : Rescue

The boy cannot understand people's kindness.

He finds reasons for kindness and goodwill, applies logic to them, and judges them to be deception. He

associates feelings with profit and loss, and therefore dismisses them as inauthentic.

And this even applies to his own feelings. He

repeats that it is wrong to act for others, and that it is presumptuous to think that one can do something for someone.

Therefore, the boy continues to lie and say that it is for his own sake, for efficiency. Even if someone is saved by doing so, it is just a result

. That is surely true.

But it must be more than that. Otherwise, he would not help someone who could be called an enemy.

Those close to him described the boy as difficult to understand.

In fact, that is probably true. Even the boy himself thinks so.

But in the end, perhaps it is he himself who understands the boy the least of all.

The boy cannot understand people's kindness. Even the kindness he has for others.

In short, the boy just cannot abandon those who are weaker than him - even if they are only temporarily weak.

Hikigaya Hachiman has been kidnapped. It was the work of Berserker's master.

Apparently he encountered him this morning along with Emiya Shirou, and although Archer went to help him, he was taken away.

"...Rescue will be difficult. Besides, cutting Hikigaya-kun won't hurt him."

As expected, it was Tohsaka Rin who said that.

It was a natural decision. Challenging Berserker in his current state would be nothing less than a suicidal act.

However, there was one voice that opposed this. It was Emiya Shirou.

"Hikigaya was practically captured in my place! Are you telling me to abandon him!?"

"It's a simple fact. Hikigaya-kun is capable, but he can only demonstrate his powers if he prepares carefully beforehand. I don't think he can perform any better in the short span of a Holy Grail War. I don't think it's a good idea to put the entire team at risk because of him."

"But still...!"

Well, that's about it.

Emiya Shirou, being a compassionate man, insists on rescue, but his opinion is rejected by Tohsaka Rin, who takes a realistic approach and ignores her emotions.

In fact, what Emiya Shirou said was reckless. And what Tohsaka Rin pointed out was correct.

Both Hikigaya Hachiman and I thought it would be impossible to fight through the second battle onwards, which is why we tried to incorporate Saber and the others into our fighting force. There is no point in wasting our energy to help Hikigaya Hachiman, who will no longer be of any use to us. But if we are to find meaning in it...

"Y-That's right! We were cursed. If we don't save Hikigaya, we're in trouble too, right?"

"Ah, the curse of mutual death has already been lifted."

"picture?"

Emiya Shirou was stunned by the fact that his words were so easily denied.

"I checked it every now and then when I had free time. I was surprised when the curse suddenly disappeared this morning. But, such a powerful curse can be used so easily by someone who isn't even a magician. It's only natural that there would be some drawback. And that was the validity period. Isn't it?"

The last words were directed at me, and I nodded silently.

Well, what should I do?

I want to save Hikigaya Hachiman no matter what. I haven't even unmasked him yet. This is now a higher priority than the Holy Grail for me. I can't let him die.

However, the reality is that it would be impossible for me to bring Hikigaya Hachiman back on my own. Their cooperation is essential.

The core of this team is Tohsaka Rin. There's no way to do anything without persuading her, and with Saber unable to move, there's no point in talking without Archer, their greatest strength.

It might be a little different if I could heal Saber, but now that my supply of magical power from Master has been cut off, there's a chance that I might not be able to withstand the psychic surgery.

I have to convince her somehow, but she has a point.

As I was searching in my head for something to negotiate on, Archer, who had been silent up until then, suddenly spoke.

"So, you're against going to help Hikigaya?"

"...Well, I suppose so. Any complaints?"

"No, that's a calm decision. It would be best to abandon this place."

"You! What are you doing?"

Emiya Shirou attacked Archer, but Archer ignored him and just stood up.

"Well then, Rin, I'm sorry but I'd like to take a day off. Could you please wait here?"

"...Hey, Archer? What are you up to?"

"Of course, I'm going to rescue Hikigaya. I'll go alone."

"What...?"

Tohsaka Rin was shocked. I can understand why, I was surprised too. Archer, who I thought would be the most difficult to persuade, was the one who took action himself.

I call out to Archer.

"...What are you planning?"

"I made that promise, after all. I can't just abandon you."

What kind of conversation did you have when I wasn't around?

As Archer tried to quickly leave, Emiya Shirou called out to him.

"Hey, wait a minute."

"...What do you need, kid?"

"I'll go too."

After declaring that, he stood up and glared at Archer for a while.

Archer was the first to look away.

"...Do as you like. Don't hold me back."

"You don't have to tell me."

"Hmph. If it had been you who had been kidnapped, I would have abandoned you without hesitation."

"What?"

"Hey! Wait a moment, you two!?"

As the two of them were about to leave, arguing with each other, Tohsaka Rin called out to them.

"What is it, Tohsaka? I'm telling you, there's no point in trying to stop you."

"Oh come on! I never said I wouldn't go and help! This makes me look like a cold-hearted woman!"

"Eh? But Tohsaka, just now..."

「That's why! If it's not possible to do it normally, we have to take some kind of measures, right? I have no intention of abandoning you from the start!」

She said this with a slightly red face, perhaps because she was embarrassed.

Surprisingly, the decision to rescue Hachiman Hikigaya was unanimous. It was truly unexpected. Saber, who was bedridden, was an exception, but she would not object.

"For now, let's get Saber moving. I made some recovery gems after Caster. If she drinks them, she should be able to move."

That exchange took place more than half a day ago.

It is already late at night. The date is about to change.

After that, we tracked down the Einzbern stronghold, sent a message to Berserker's master to make a deal, and lured him outside before setting off to rescue him.

The deal was of course nonsense. Even if they divided their forces, they would only be defeated one by one. Perhaps because he used Emiya Shirou's name, he took the bait surprisingly easily.

By leading the way so far, there was no sign of the enemy detecting me, including the barrier that covered the entire forest. However, judging from some of the traps I saw along the way, the enemy's skill was considerable. It wouldn't be strange if I had missed something, and it took quite a while to get here. It wouldn't be strange if they had noticed me. I might have to prepare for a fight.

Relying on the link of the Command Spells that was revived by the distance between them, she tried to find Hachiman Hikigaya's location. She found the door to the room she thought might be this one, and was trying to sense anything inside when something happened.

"Hey, hey! Stop it!"

A familiar voice. A scream, moreover. It was definitely Hikigaya Hachiman's.

The moment he heard, he pushed the door open with Tohsaka Rin beside him.

"Hachiman-sama?!"

"Hikigaya-kun, are you okay?!"

What he saw on the other side of the door was Hikigaya Hachiman, tied to a chair, with his pants being pulled down by a maid (with big breasts).

"So, while we were all working so hard to get here, you were having a good time with the enemy's maid."

"No, so this was a misunderstanding..."

"Ha! I don't know!"

Next to the Einzbern maid who Archer had easily knocked unconscious was Hikigaya Hachiman, sitting upright with his face deformed, and Tohsaka Rin, looking down at him in a pose of defiance. I was also standing next to her in the same pose.

"So, when I said I wanted to pee, this guy brought out a urinal or something…!"

"Whoa..."

"Look, I don't mean to criticize other people's hobbies, but I think it's a bit strange to expose such special sexual tendencies to others, you know?"

"I told you it wasn't true! Hey, stop being so shocked!"

As Tohsaka Rin and I walk away with distorted expressions, Hikigaya Hachiman continues to press us.

"Well, in any case, I'm glad you're safe."

"...Ah, thank you."

Saying this, Emiya Shirou helped him stand up with a wry smile, and Hikigaya Hachiman responded with complicated looks on his face.

Emiya Shirou looked at the situation with a question mark on his face.

"what up?"

"Well, I thought you'd come after all."

"...What do you mean?"

"Well, I am grateful. If I had been abandoned, I would have had no choice but to die. But if I think about the whole team, coming here was a mistake. Illyasviel is probably waiting for me by the entrance right now."

I guess that's a possibility after all. It seems that Hikigaya Hachiman was thinking the same thing as me.

"Eh, but we made sure Illya had left before coming here, right?"

"Either it was an illusion, pretending to come out and then quickly going back. Well, it's possible that we were really being fooled, but we shouldn't get our hopes up. Is Saber recovering?"

"no……"

"I guess fighting is reckless after all... Caster, was there anywhere else we could have entered or exited other than the entrance?"

This man, had anticipated that we would come to help him in this situation, and had even considered fighting Berserker?

"...This castle itself acts as a kind of barrier. It would be difficult to escape by any other means than the normal one."

"I suppose so... I'd like to avoid fighting inside the castle at the very least..."

Hikigaya Hachiman grumbled, furrowing his brow.

This castle was the Einzbern workshop. Fighting inside the castle would mean lowering their already low chances of winning even further.

"...Well, let's go to the entrance first. I have an idea about what to do from there."

"What if they attack you midway?"

"In that case, it might be difficult to get through without making any casualties. But, well, you probably don't need to worry about that."

"Why do you think that?"

In response to Tohsaka Rin's, rather obvious, question, Hikigaya Hachiman lightly shrugged his shoulders.

"That's the kind of creature magicians are."

"Oh, you're back already? I wish you'd take it easy."

It happened when I reached the castle lobby and put my hand on the gate.

The voice came along with the sound of footsteps and we all turned around at once.

Looking up, you can see a wide front staircase leading to a landing on the left and right that leads to the open-air second floor.

From there, where no one had been until just a moment ago, Illyasviel von Einzbern was calmly looking down with Berserker at her side.

"I'm sorry for the delay in showing you my hospitality. As the lord of this castle, I apologize... What's with that face?"

Illyasviel looked at our expressions and frowned in a slightly unpleasant manner. It was probably not the reaction we had expected.

Emiya Shirou and Tohsaka Rin murmured involuntarily.

"Amazing... From the timing to the location, it's almost exactly as Hikigaya said."

"The first line was exactly the same, word for word. What's going on with this guy...?"

"Huh?! What's that?!"

Illyasviel's face turned red as she yelled at what they said.

It's understandable. It must be embarrassing to be told that someone had already predicted your move, even though you thought it would be a cool surprise.

The white-haired little girl (slightly teary-eyed) pointed her finger at Hikigaya Hachiman.

"Oh come on! What's wrong with you, you're always getting in my way! Do you have some grudge against me? You're just a zombie!"

"No, it has nothing to do with zombies. And why do you think no one hates you?"

Hikigaya Hachiman mumbles an objection. He should have said it loud enough for Illyasviel to hear. He keeps the same tone of voice, so he calls out to the other members but in a way that Illyasviel can't hear.

"...Well then, let's go as planned!"

At the same time as the shout was made, Hikigaya Hachiman and Emiya Shirou, who were closest to the entrance, used their entire bodies to push open the massive castle gate. The door itself was heavy, so it couldn't be opened all the way in one go, but it still created a gap large enough for two people to pass through side by side.

At the same time, Tohsaka Rin raised her left hand and opened her mouth.

"Archer!"

"! Berserker!"

Seeing this, Illyasviel turned pale and shouted, "They've noticed!"

"Take us and run!"

"Don't let them get away!"

The orders were completed at the same time.

The two Command Spells exploded with a sound like shattering glass, and Archer and Berserker disappeared.

Suddenly, countless sounds of impacts rang out all over the lobby.

It was a high-speed battle that was impossible for a human to achieve, no, even for a Servant it was an abnormal level.

A few moments later, the two of them reappeared in their original positions.

Archer appeared to have been injured, with blood dripping from his left arm. Berserker, on the other hand, was unharmed.

"--Seems like you're doing better than I thought. Still alive."

Perhaps having prevented us from escaping, Illyasviel regained her composure and gave a cold sneer.

"So? What are you going to do now?"

Tohsaka Rin called out to Hikigaya Hachiman with a frustrated look on her face.

"...It didn't work. Do you have any other plans?"

"...I'm sorry, but this is the only time everyone can leave."

"Is that so...I wonder if the next best thing is the one I came up with?"

"Maybe."

Tohsaka Rin let out a deep sigh.

"Archer"

and.

"Five minutes will do. Hold him off."

He ordered his Servant, "Die."