Chapter 65

"Dammit! Dammit!"

He kicked the back of the couch, leaving shoe prints there.

It's rough. Well, that's understandable.

It had been about a quarter of an hour since Archer had left. During that time, Matou Shinji had been acting like this the whole time.

He lashes out at anything that catches his eye, but he doesn't have the nerve to destroy anything. ...Considering that, he seems to calmly order murders, but as long as he doesn't carry them out with his own hands, he's probably okay.

Earlier, I had accidentally broken a chair and was clearly in a panic, but that was the extent of the damage I had caused to the church. Well, I suppose cleaning up that will be quite a pain, though.

"Haa... haa... damn it...!"

He seemed to have calmed down after his violent outburst, or rather, to have simply run out of strength, but he stopped raging and became quiet. He then looked from head to toe, from the chair he'd broken to the sleeping Tohsaka Rin, to me, before clicking his tongue and turning away. It seemed he still had some shame left in him for his disgraceful behavior.

"...I'm going to rest for today. I'm going to find a bed, so you come with me. There should be at least a bedroom here."

He said this with a guilty look on his face, and without waiting for a reply, he walked towards the door to the back. I had no choice but to pick up Tohsaka Rin and follow him.

Behind the door was a living space. It seemed to be a church that also served as a residence.

I looked down the hallway, which wasn't narrow but not particularly wide either, and found the bathroom.

"Shall I boil some water?"

Without even realizing it, those words suddenly came out of my mouth.

When I was living in Master's house as a human, I was often in charge of bathing because I couldn't do any other housework, so it seems that remnants of that have come out. Well, it was only at the beginning that I was unable to do housework, though.

"Hmmm... that's right. You should take a shower too. I don't like the smell of sweat."

"…………teeth?"

I couldn't understand what was being said.

For a moment I thought it might be a sign of concern, but the nuance of it was odd, and more than anything, I couldn't imagine this man having any such feelings.

So, if you ask me what I'm planning to do...

"Oh, don't get the wrong idea.That guyArcher"I wasn't scared. But it's no fun to hold a sleeping Tohsaka. I have no choice but to make do with you for today."

Ah, it turns out it wasn't just delusion or self-consciousness.

In short, this man was asking me to treat him as a woman, as a substitute for another woman.

Only now did I realize that Hikigaya Hachiman was truly the winner.

"rude"

"Huh? Let's have a quick bath..."

I looked into the man's eyes. The man started to say something, but then fell silent without being able to finish it.

"Go."

After saying that to the man, he staggered outside, sleepwalking like a slob.

It was the first step in magic, hypnotic suggestion. She was not a virgin, so he didn't mind being embraced, but he had no intention of selling women cheaply.

I thought there would be a bit more resistance, but it went in so easily that it took me by surprise.

A Servant cannot harm his Master.

This is because the Command Spells act as a stopper to hinder the Servant's actions, but this function reacts to direct murderous or malicious intent from the Servant.

On the other hand, if you can get around that, there are plenty of ways to do it.

If they react to murderous intent, then there is no way for the Command Spells to stop them if they act without any murderous intent whatsoever. Therefore, it is not uncommon for a Servant controlled by magic to attack their Master.

It's also possible that a Servant who is dazed for some reason might accidentally kill their Master without realizing it. No, I don't think that would happen though. I know I'm saying that myself, but...

What I used this time was purely a suggestion. If I had directly ordered him to "die", it would have been stopped, but if I just let him walk, there would have been no problem.

Well, there must be a railroad crossing, a cliff, and a river ahead, but that's none of my business. With any luck, I won't die.

I erased the man from my mind and looked for the bedroom. It wasn't very spacious, so I found it quickly.

He lays Tohsaka Rin, who he has been holding, on the bed and gives her a quick check on her health and the state of the curse.

His physical condition doesn't seem to be particularly problematic. The curse will also disappear over time. It's unlikely that he will remain asleep for more than a year at most.

"Well then, goodbye."

With that said to Sleeping Beauty, I left the church.

What should I do now?

I thought vaguely about this as I walked aimlessly through the city at night.

It would probably be logical to return to Hikigaya Hachiman, but to be honest, I don't feel like doing that.

I hated that guy.

Although he tries to avoid making excuses with flippant words and a careless smile, he cannot tolerate deception.

While I hate lies and deception, I believe it is good for people to deceive themselves.

They lie to others and to themselves, mock the right path and sing of the absurdity of the world, yet they never descend into injustice or become tainted by evil.

He is immature and incomplete in everything.

Oh, this is absolutely disgusting.This is just like me.・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・.

In fact, he and I were very similar. We had a lot in common.

That's why I couldn't forgive that man for sacrificing himself to save someone. That's something I could never do.

That's why I was so obsessed with Hikigaya Hachiman's true identity.

The true identity of Hachiman Hikigaya.

I wanted to be the bad guy.

I wanted to prove that his actions were not based on goodwill, but on calculation and planning to take advantage of others.

The person I thought was similar to me was actually a person so much stronger than I was. Wouldn't that make me feel so pathetic?

However, at the end of the day, his true nature was that he was just a good person, and his goodness was not based on anything special, just ordinary, everyday goodness.

He proved this by putting himself at risk to save a close friend.

It turns out my goal had been achieved in a way that was of no relief to me.

If he was the kind of person Hikigaya Hachiman expected, then as a fellow villain, he thought he would be happy to accompany him to the end of the Holy Grail War.

Or, if that kindness had been directed towards me, I might have fallen in love or been saved in some other way.

But now neither of these things would happen, and my attachment to him had vanished along with my hatred.

The Holy Grail...isn't something I don't need, but with the Hero King as my opponent, there's no chance I can win.

In short, I had no reason left to fight anymore.

I stare blankly up at the night sky.

Lift your left arm and look up.

At that time, the King of Heroes attacked her and she lost her Command Seal along with her left hand. I wonder what happened to Saber after that.

It wasn't just Saber. At that point, the fighting strength of both the enemy and allies was shaky. With the timing of the interruption being perfect, it wouldn't be surprising if they were wiped out.

Although I wanted to make sure it was okay, there was a high chance that I would unnecessarily unleash the snake if I got too close, so it would be best to just run away.

(I don't think they want me to come back, after all...)

Although I never said it or showed it in my actions, it is true that I had been waiting for an opportunity to kill him. And Hikigaya Hachiman knew this and kept me by his side.

If you were separated from me by pure chance, you probably won't want to go back.

I, too, feel guilty about having targeted someone's life for an unreasonable reason. In a way, it might be more honest for me to just disappear.

"Now that you mention it..."

Thinking about Hikigaya Hachiman, I suddenly remembered if he had ever appeared on a street like this in his pajamas.

I remember that at that time, I was being attacked by an Assassin and he sensed my danger through the Command Spell and rushed to my aid.

Up until now, he had been stubborn and refused to admit it, but at this point, he was a pretty good-natured guy. He must have realized that I hated him.

The poison had really taken its toll on me then. If Archer hadn't intervened, it probably would've ended there.

While thinking back to that time, I casually activate a search spell.

An invisible wave spreads in a circle. If anyone who has hostility towards the caster touches this wave, they will be informed of it. It's a simple technique. It also has the added effect of forcibly canceling concealment and hiding.

There's nothing particularly deep about it. It just seemed to me.

Maybe he just wanted to vent his frustration by expending magical power for no reason at all.

Either way, the magic worked correctly, and a white masked figure appeared right behind me.

"!?"

He instantly threw his body forward, and at almost the same time, a black blade slashed through the area where his neck had been.

It was a close call, but the crisis did not just pass me by, and it attacked me again as I rolled on the ground.

"Assassin...!"

As I spoke, the Assassin jumped on top of me as I tried to stand up and swung down the deadly blade he was holding in his reverse hand.

"...!"

It was nothing but good fortune that I was able to catch it so quickly.

He straddled me and held the dagger in both hands, putting all his weight on it, but I gritted my teeth and pushed it back. My left hand had been healed after being blown away by the Hero King, but even with my physical strengthening, I was no match for him. My poor posture also contributed to the blade being pushed in steadily.

Actually, my posture is really bad.

Although I don't have the slightest knowledge of kinematics, I still understand that being straddled is a huge disadvantage.

While I couldn't even put my foot down, my opponent was able to use gravity to apply force to me. Even if I wanted to get out, my body was pinned down and I couldn't do anything.

Even if I tried to use magic, I wouldn't have the time to concentrate on it, let alone chanting. If I let my arms relax even a little, I'd be taken away in an instant.

I know I'm in a desperate situation, but I can't do anything about it. I need to find a way out, but I don't have the time to look for one.

A while passes with the situation remaining at a stalemate.

It felt like an incredibly long time, but in reality it probably wasn't that long. Otherwise, there's no way my stamina would have been able to keep going.

The Assassin seemed to have a bit more leeway than me, and seemed to prioritize not letting me escape over finishing me off in one go.

This is not a sadistic hobby, but rather a sign of sturdiness. Thanks to this, I've managed to hang on somehow, but at the same time, it's steadily chipping away at my lifespan.

I have to create an opening somehow...!

It was the moment when what I had been thinking from the beginning was put into clear words in my head.

Tips

A sudden sound drew my attention, and I saw a man standing there on the street, looking my way. It was the sound of footsteps.

Come to think of it, I hadn't set up any barriers to keep people out. I didn't have the time, and if Assassin had set one up beforehand, I would have definitely noticed.

In any case, this is a clear change that has come to a stalemate. No matter how the situation develops, there is no way for me to survive other than to seize the flow.

The same was true for Assassin. Though he showed no outward signs of change, he was clearly paying attention to the man.

The man was tall and slightly skinny, dressed in a suit and carrying a leather bag in his left hand, looking like he was on his way home from work.

His long, narrow eyes are hidden behind glasses, giving him an impression of being quite old, but he is probably not yet 30.

No matter how you look at it, he's just an ordinary person.

To him, we probably looked like a knife-wielding thug and the woman he was attacking.

Whether I scream and run away, or confront the assailant and try to save the poor victim, either way the situation will turn in my favor. Even better, I'd be grateful if I could shout loudly and get people to gather around.

Knock

The man stiffened for a moment, then took a step towards me.

The assassin twisted slightly and turned his gaze towards the man, but there was still no opening large enough for him to escape.

The man closed the distance with a surprisingly natural, steady stride.

We took a big step forward and reached out to touch each other, but when we got close enough, tension filled both Assassin's and my whole body.

The man paid no attention to this and carried on walking - passing right by.

……………………teeth?

Assassin and I suddenly exchanged looks.

I had predicted many developments, but being ignored was beyond my imagination. Assassin and I were both stunned, as if we had forgotten what we had been doing up until that point.

When I turned to look at the man, he was walking away with the same steady gait.

The assassin glanced back and forth between me and the man's back several times, then hurriedly chased after the man. Rather than letting the witness escape while I was busy, he seemed determined to get rid of him quickly and start over.

We are grateful for that decision.

It'll be difficult to escape against an assassin, but fortunately there's only one. If I can prepare to intercept him while he's being killed, I might have a better chance of survival.

The man was already more than 10 meters away, but to a Servant, that distance was nothing.

The assassin closed the distance in one leap and leapt onto the man's back.

As I gazed upon it, I quickly constructed a spell—

Snap!

With that dry sound, the Assassin stomped back. He was holding his face, and peeking out from between his hands was his white mask, cracked and spilling in pieces onto the ground.

Once again, the unexpected sight caused the magic he had been working on to dissipate.

If I wasn't mistaken, it looked like the man, with his back turned to him, had slammed his fist into the face of the Assassin who was attacking him from behind!?

"Hmm?"

The man turned around with a suspicious voice, and the Assassin stepped away and prepared himself as if he had been bounced off.

Clearly, the level of caution has gone up. And rightly so.

Assassin glanced in my direction for just a moment, then ran towards the man, crawling along the ground. The man turned around completely, readying his fists.

The assassin throws a dagger as he runs, and the man throws his bag at it, knocking it down.

The Assassin stepped up to the man's feet and launched a piercing hand from almost directly below him, but the man countered with a counter that seemed to wrap around the piercing hand, like a snake.

Assassin ignored the hit and launched an attack with the momentum of his piercing hand. He kicked as he stood up, then leapt into the air and kicked three times.

The man twisted his body to dodge the attacks, but was unable to avoid a final spin kick, blocking it with both arms. The assassin hooked the kick with his heel, throwing the man towards me.

The man rolled over, defended himself, and instantly got up. At the same time, he threw the dagger he had picked up at some point at the assassin, who was closing in to pursue him.

The Assassin caught the dagger in his fingers, then changed his grip and went to slash at the man, but the throw seemed to have slightly reduced his momentum, as the man had easily managed to jump back and dodge.

Seriously, who is this guy?!

I couldn't help but stare in amazement, but there was no time to escape or get in between them anyway. That's how high the level of both of them was.

From this distance I can barely see what's happening, but if I had been standing there I would have collapsed before I'd had a chance to comprehend what had happened.

After that, the two of them changed positions rapidly, but eventually they both jumped back and put some distance between them. The man was now standing directly in front of me, about a few meters away, on his guard. It was probably just a coincidence, but he was positioned in such a way that he was shielding me from the assassin.

After some hesitation, I finally spoke up.

"Um, um."

"Please make this quick if possible. We don't have much time."

I was taken aback by the sudden response, but it was probably true that he didn't have the time. I decided to listen to what he needed to know and only ask what was necessary.

"Can we win?"

"That's impossible. You'll probably get killed soon."

"picture"

I couldn't help but look at the man's expression.

If I thought about it calmly, it was only natural, but his tone and attitude were so calm that I wondered if I had misheard.

"It looked like we were fighting on equal terms."

"There's almost no difference in our skills. However, for some unknown reason, my attacks don't seem to go through at all. Normally, it would be strange if he didn't die from the first blow. There's nothing we can do if we can't inflict any damage."

Huh, was that such a brutal blow?

Regardless, this man doesn't seem to have any knowledge that Servants are spirit beings, or that non-mystical attacks are ineffective against such opponents.

In other words, he had no connection to magic or the Holy Grail War, and was just a passerby. No, this level of fighting power without any connection to magic is far more incomprehensible.

"You run away."

"picture?"

To be honest, I was confused by the words that came out without any warning.

The man's expression had not changed at all from the beginning, and his breathing and tone of voice were completely flat.

Therefore, I thought the man had some kind of solution, or at least what he would think.

"Um, what are you going to do?"

"Let's stall it here."

"...You're going to sacrifice yourself for me?"

"You won't be able to stop it. One is better than two killed. It's just arithmetic."

I was enraged at his hypocritical behavior, but in reality he was cold-hearted. This calmed me down and I made a proposal.

"...If the attack works, is there anything we can do?"

"It's possible."

"Then I'll do something about it."

"Then I leave it to you."

…………

"Well, don't you suspect me? Maybe I'm trying to trick you?"

"In that case, I would just be killed. If the outcome is the same, there's no point in doubting it."

How should I put it, it seems that when rationalism is taken too far, it can actually look ridiculous. This is actually quite natural.

Assassin seemed to have heard our conversation and suddenly became impatient.

Naturally, Assassin hadn't just been standing there blankly while I was talking. He was simply struggling to decide what to do, being held back by not only this man, but also by me.

Use a barrier to deflect the assassin and create some distance.

There's only so much time I can buy at this distance, but it's enough for me. After a short muttered chant, the man's fist emits a pale blue light.

"this is……?"

"Our attack should work now!"

"Okay."

At the same time as the man responded, he took off running. Assassin also took an intercepting stance, holding his dagger in his other hand.

The man made a show of charging straight ahead, but then suddenly stopped just before reaching the distance. Normally, that would have lured him in and made an attack, but the Assassin stayed put and waited.

From a low stance, the man launched three consecutive, bending blows. Assassin was unable to dodge one of them and deflected it with his arm. At that moment, he saw the expression on his face distort behind the cracked mask. It was clearly effective.

The man seemed to notice, and his already fast attacks increased in speed. Assassin didn't like this and tried to distance himself, but the man refused to let up and kept attacking.

The man clung to his opponent and launched a series of strikes. In between, the Assassin delivered a pin-sharp thrust.

At the moment he thought he couldn't dodge, a blow from the Snake'' caught the Assassin's mask.

Just when I thought I had landed a counter attack, I aimed right at it.Chris CrossMore counters to countersThe Assassin couldn't help but lean back, his movements frozen, as the man's hand pierced his bare throat.

It's over...

He watched as Assassin collapsed on the spot and vanished into particles of light, and finally relaxed.

Meanwhile, the man, I, paid no attention to him, just tilted his head slightly as he watched the disappearing Assassin.

"...Are humans meant to have their bodies disappear like this?"

There's no way that's true.

I thought to myself, and bowed to the man while still slumped to the ground.

"Thank you. You helped me a lot."

"There's no need to thank me. I was just trying to protect myself. In fact, it was you who was saved."

Saying that, the man picked up his bag as if nothing had happened.

Although he said it in a cold manner, I'm sure he was sincerely grateful. Although I only just met him, I'm beginning to get a sense of his personality.

Therefore, his gratitude is painful.

"...I simply used you to save myself. I didn't do anything to deserve your thanks. On the contrary, I tried to overlook your death in order to buy myself some time."

"If you say that, then I feel the same way. I too tried to overlook your death for reasons that had nothing to do with me."

That's right. Now that I think about it, this person was trying to abandon me and go home at first.

"What's important is the fact that I was helped. Whatever your intentions, what difference does it make to the person who was helped?"

Is that really the case?

Helping someone should be done based on goodwill and things like that...

"Therefore, it is my choice to express my gratitude. Thank you. I am grateful."

""

Oh, I see.

I've always thought that helping others was something special.

I thought that this was a privilege granted only to people who were the epitome of goodness, and that gratitude was a very special reward given in return.

Therefore, I thought that when people like that help others, it is either as a bargain in which they expect something in return, or as a prelude to a trap.

I have always believed that this is how it should be, that it must be.

But is that really the case?

Helping someone and having someone thank you has never been so easy.

The man walked over to me, leaned down, and made eye contact with me.

"--Hmm. I don't know what it is, but it seems your doubts have been cleared up."

"picture?"

"That's the kind of face you have."

I instinctively touched my face. Was it really that easy to understand? Or rather...

"Do you understand that?"

"To be honest, I don't really understand human emotions. But because of my job, I have a lot of opportunities to interact with young people around your age. I can at least tell if they are troubled or not."

"...are you perhaps a teacher?"

"For now. I'm in charge of ethics."

Without changing his expression, the man replied in a murmur.

Considering he's in charge of ethics, he seems to lack a common sense of ethics, but I'm sure he has some special circumstances or background. After all, he's not normal.

I stood up, brushed the dust off my clothes, and bowed deeply to the man who had also stood up.

"--Thank you. I've decided what I'm going to do now."

"That's great. I don't think it's one of our students, but if it helps a student, I'm sure it's something to be happy about."

It sounds like he's talking about something that doesn't concern him. But I think he's saying it from his heart.

This person is probably not good at expressing their emotions.

When he says he can't understand other people's feelings, it's probably not like he's a middle school kid, but he probably just doesn't understand. If he was trying to act cool, I don't think he would say he's happy.

I take out one of the bags I carry around, pluck out a strand of hair, stuff it in with some small leaves and flowers, and give it a blessing.

"This."

"this is?"

When I handed him the makeshift amulet, the man tilted his head slightly. Well, without knowledge of magic, he probably wouldn't understand its value.

"It's like a talisman. Maybe that enemy's allies from earlier will come again, but if I have this, I think I'll be able to at least resist."

"I see. Then I'll accept it gratefully."

"Well, I think it'll be fine. Just make sure you don't let go."

I think the possibility is low since they were jamming the communication so that it couldn't be sent, but even that's not absolute.

This talisman could easily exorcise any evil spirits, but against a Servant, it would be a drop in the bucket. Still, with this man, maybe he could at least escape.

Either way, it's better than nothing.

"Well then, let's go."

I bow to the man again and turn away.

As I took off running, a voice called out from behind me.

"Oh, you."

"yes?"

"It's dark so be careful."

I stopped in my tracks and turned around, and those words came flying at me. I stood there dumbfounded, then burst out laughing.

I must have looked pretty silly. Thank goodness it was dark.

"Yes, teacher!"

I replied with the same words I used to say back in the day, and this time I finally ran out into the night.

Not to accomplish what you should accomplish, but to accomplish what you want to accomplish.