Chapter 47 : Fate/Black Snow

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I wonder what on earth that was.

The sun had already set and I walked alone along the dark road.

Normally I wouldn't be this late, but today I had some circumstances. Although I don't think I can explain these circumstances to anyone.

I put my hand in my skirt pocket and felt something hard through the fabric.

For some reason, I had an IC recorder. The voice was recorded on it.

It belonged to a boy I didn't know. And yet, for some reason, my heart was deeply unsettled. It seemed Yuigahama-san was feeling the same way, and we both ended up crying like children. That was the reason why I was late.

"Hikigaya...kun."

I just said to myself.

That's what I called him on the IC recorder.

The conversation I had with him was, in a word, about breaking up. Although, it was different from the conversation I had with a romantic partner.

He had to do something, and in order to do that he had to leave us. I came to tell him. That's how it felt.

And we cling to him, saying, "I don't want him to go," like a lover about to be abandoned.

"lover……"

That's ridiculous.

I shook my head to clear away the delusion that had flashed across my mind for a moment.

This makes it seem as though I have feelings for him. What on earth can I expect from someone I don't even know?

While thinking about such pointless things, I hurried home. It wasn't that late yet, but things have been a little dangerous lately. It's better to be safe than sorry.

Speaking of which, I suddenly remember.

I've been home around this time before, and I remember someone offering to give me a lift.

I'm sure I turned it down. Even though I was actually happy. I said things I didn't mean.

Who on earth could that have been?

When the door was closed, the light coming in from the hallway disappeared and the room became pitch black.

I waited like that for my eyes to get used to it. In the meantime, I thought about trivial things like how I had stopped saying "I'm home" since I started living alone.

I was aware that I was doing something meaningless.

I don't know why, but I can't shake the feeling of emptiness.

No, I know the cause. It's that IC recorder. But I don't understand why it upsets me so much.

I sigh.

If it were something you could figure out by thinking about it, you would have already arrived at the answer. In other words, this is not something you can figure out by thinking about it.

Giving up, I took off my shoes, walked into the living room, and reached for the light remote.

"You came home quite late."

The sudden voice made me jump back.

It came from right next to me, a calm, male voice.

The man just stood there.

I was in the corner of the room, not leaning against the wall, but sinking into the darkness.

A small rosary sparkles and sways on the chest of the jet-black robe he wears.

"What..."

"Young people may think my ideas are old-fashioned, but I really can't approve of students going out at night... Well, was I being too nosy? I'm sorry if I just happened to have some business to attend to. Please just ignore this as the ramblings of an old man."

I was so shocked I was speechless, but the man spoke as if it was nothing. I regained some of my composure during that long speech and raised my voice.

"who!?"

Even as I was saying this, I realized I had seen this man before. I dug through my old memories and somehow found the right match. I'm sure he was the priest at the church my mother took me to when I was little.

"Excuse me, there is something I need to confirm. I know it's a bit unfair, but I decided to just pop in."

The priest said this without any apology, and took a careless step towards me.

"Stay away! I'm calling the police!"

"... I might just be imagining things. Oh well. Let me search my memory a little just to be sure."

"this……!"

The priest didn't seem to have heard what I was saying, as he held out his hand while saying something incomprehensible. I took his arm and was pinned down face down.

"!?!?"

I don't know what happened. I was trying to apply elbow lock, but before I knew it, he had already taken me down.

It was impossible to tell if he had been thrown or swept from the leg. There was no sign of an attack, and in fact he didn't even feel any pain after being knocked down. It was on a whole different level!

The priest grabbed my head from behind and pulled my face up.

Zupuri

I thought I heard that sound.

"Hmm...?"

"Hii…!?"

This time, without realizing what was happening, air escaped from my twitching lungs.

The priest places his palm on the top of my head and his fingers hook around my forehead, "sinking" into it.

"It's locked. I thought it might have been loose, but perhaps there was some connection to it after all?"

And by "sinking" I mean it literally, as the priest's fingers dug into my forehead up to the second knuckle.

No matter how you look at it, there is a hole in my skull, but I don't feel any pain. Instead, I'm assaulted by a horrible sensation, as if insects were crawling on the surface of my brain.

"It's incredibly intricate, but it's not particularly strong. Even I can handle it to this extent..."

I couldn't understand anything about the situation or what the priest was saying.

My teeth chattered in fear and tears welled up.

Scary. What is this?

Someone, help me, someone, someone...

"nothing……!?"

"Hikigaya-kun"...!

"law……"

Looking down at me as I was breathing heavily, the priest muttered an impressed tone.

"Although it was a simple item, you managed to break Caster's seal with your own power. Is this what you'd expect from Yukinoshita's blood? That's impressive."

"What does that mean...?!"

I forced myself to catch my breath and glared at the priest.

I was remembering everything.

About Hikigaya-kun, about Medea, about the Holy Grail War, everything.

But there are still some things I don't understand about what the priest is saying. Why does Yukinoshita's name come up here?

"Your family has a lineage of magicians, Yukinoshita Yukino-kun."

"That's a lie! I've never heard of such a thing...!"

"Of course. Your mother said she had no intention of letting you know about magic. Ah, don't resent your family about that. Only the eldest child inherits magic. It's normal for other children not to even know about the existence of magic. And besides, I kept quiet because I was thinking of you. If you wish to be happy as a human being, it's obviously better to stay away from magic."

The priest's calm voice reminded me of something I had heard from Medea before. She had certainly said something similar. So, my sister...?

"I had originally assumed that your sister would be the one chosen to become the Master. But you never know what's going to happen in life. I never would have imagined that a boy who isn't even a magician would be able to summon a Servant."

Apparently he had extracted information about Hikigaya-kun from my memory. The priest didn't say anything out loud, but he was laughing with amusement.

There was something sinister about that laugh, which made me feel uncomfortable, and my gaze naturally became sharper.

"What are you planning to do to Hikigaya-kun?"

"Nothing. I told you at the beginning that there was something I needed to confirm. Now that that's done, I have no intention of getting involved."

"So why do you need to check?"

"Those who succeed in summoning a Servant are to report the matter to me. I am in charge of overseeing the Holy Grail War."

"A supervisor?"

"Yes. Their main role is to prevent collateral damage to unrelated people and the leakage of mysticism from battles between Masters. They also protect Masters who have lost the power to fight."

The Holy Grail War is, to a certain extent, systematized. That's what I thought when Medea explained it to me. However...

"Protection of the Master?"

"Of course, this only applies to those who have abandoned the fight. We do not wish for meaningless sacrifices."

"How can you protect them? If another Master were to launch an attack, would you be able to protect them?"

"That's impossible. At the very least, I have neither the right nor the power to stop the Servants. I can only hope that the participants will exercise their good sense. However, there's no need to worry too much. No Servant would serve a Master who has given up the fight, so there's no point in targeting such a Master. It would only make your location known to the enemy."

"But if the Command Spells remain, surely there is a Master who can remind you?"

"That's why I'm the supervisor. I have the ability to remove the Command Spells from Masters who have abandoned the fight."

Saying this, the priest rolled up his left sleeve. I gasped at what was underneath. Countless Command Spells were shining brightly all over the priest's left arm.

"My family has been the overseers of the Holy Grail War for generations. These are the Command Spells that were never used in past battles. I have inherited them. Of course, without a Servant, they are a waste."

The priest rolled his sleeves back and bowed slightly to me.

"I'm sorry for interrupting you for so long. Again, I'd like you to forget about this conversation."

"hang on"

I use my voice to stop the priest who was about to step towards me.

"……something?"

"You came here to see if I'm your master."

"Actually, it's a confirmation of your will to fight. If you are being dragged into this unwillingly, I was going to encourage you to decline."

Well, that was a misjudgment, he adds.

"Then please protect Hikigaya-kun. It was purely an accident that he got caught up in the Holy Grail War."

"Unfortunately, that's difficult."

"Why!?"

"I don't know where he is. There's no protection here. And even if we could talk, I don't think he'd be able to be persuaded."

You won't respond to persuasion?

"Why do you think that?"

"I told you earlier that I had looked into your memories. I was able to get a good idea of what kind of person he was. He seems to be a very intelligent and kind-hearted boy."

…So what? Or rather, how could they make such an assessment after reading my memories?

"I would imagine he would already have an idea of how to retire safely."

"...Is there really a way to do that?"

"He only has one Command Spell left, right? If so, it's simple. Just use the last one to make the Servant commit suicide."

"What…?!"

"If he doesn't do that, then isn't he participating in the battle of his own volition? I don't know if he has a wish he wants to fulfill with the Holy Grail, or if he just feels sorry for the Servant."

I feel sorry for the Servant.

Ah, that seems possible. It makes perfect sense. Or rather, in Hikigaya-kun's case, I can't think of any other reason.

"Do you want to save him?"

Those words slipped right through the walls of my heart.

save.

I.

Hikigaya-kun.

"By rights, I should have sealed away your memories of the Holy Grail War. Mysteries must be concealed."

The priest's calming voice gently melts my heart.

"But there are other paths. If you are willing to live a life that involves magic."

"What do you mean..."

"In other words, you can just take part in the Holy Grail War yourself. If you fight and defeat the other Masters, there will be no one left to harm him."

"...But I have Command Spells and Servants."

"You can use my Command Spells. Also, I'm actually currently looking after a Servant without a Master."

I saw hope. I saw it, and then it was awful.

"The Church also believes that the Holy Grail should not fall into the hands of evil people. Personally, I think it would be okay to leave it in your hands. What do you think?"