CHAPTER 111: 110. NEGOTIATIONS 1/?

Chapter 110

"What does this mean?" Artoria frowned, shifting her gaze from Mordred to me. "There should only be one Saber in the Holy Grail War. She doesn’t look like a Berserker, either."

"This Holy Grail War isn’t what you think it is, Artoria Pendragon," I smirked before turning to the gates of the Emiya residence. "But before we start our conversation, why don’t we invite two more guests?"

Right where I looked, two figures had just appeared: one male, one female.

"! Tohsaka?!" exclaimed Emiya, who was standing next to me, soon followed by Rin’s surprised cry.

"Two Sabers?!"

"A perfect couple, how synchronized," I chuckled, then focused on the master of the house.

"So, what do you say, Emiya Shirou? Will you invite your guests in for a cup of tea?"

"Only if someone explains to me what’s going on here," the boy replied, though it was clear that in this situation, Saber was definitely the one who would protect him. He moved closer to her, and I would bet that it was actually Archer who made him nervous, with that look saying, "Just give me an excuse and I’ll kill you."

"Of course, how could we not," I nodded. "Tohsaka will inform you about the local mages. As for me, I’ll share why the Holy Grail is not so holy anymore—and why only I can grant the wishes of Artoria and Mordred."

"As King of Knights, I won’t betray my master," Saber immediately responded aggressively, interpreting my words in her own way.

"King Arthur is a woman?!" Rin’s eyes widened with shock as she realized who was standing in front of her.

"How dare you!" Mordred flared up the moment she heard a forbidden word about herself and her father.

"That’s enough, Mordred." Artoria issued her command, as usual.

"Yes, father," the knight-girl instantly obeyed.

"Oooh," I murmured, watching their interaction as if nothing had ever passed between them, as if they hadn’t dealt each other fatal blows once.

"Master, I don’t like to admit it, but currently we are at a disadvantage. It would be wise to accept their offer of negotiations," Saber calmly suggested.

"Did we have another option?" Shirou raised an eyebrow, his attitude causing a twitch of irritation from Artoria, who disliked how things were, to put it mildly, not as they should be.

"Please, come in," Shirou opened the door for us.

"Thanks for the invitation!" Rin immediately flitted into the house and began to look around.

"Wow, a traditional-style house, this is actually nice. That’s the living room, right?" came the curious girl’s voice, prompting the rest of us to exchange glances and silently follow.

"Eh? Why is your window broken?"

"I had to break it. There was no other way," Shirou replied.

"Hmm, so you’re the type who never gives up? That’s exactly how I imagined you," Rin smiled before she did something that even made me open my left eye, not wanting to miss anything.

"Minuten vor Schweißen," she chanted a short spell, and the shards of broken glass, as if turning back time, returned to their original position, making the window whole again.

"Tohsaka, that’s—"

"Just a little demonstration. As I understand it—you’re a dropout, right?" the girl asked with a self-satisfied air.

"Not true! At least I can use ’Reinforcement,’" the boy shot back, clearly miffed at her words.

"You forgot about us so quickly. Poor Sakura! How can I tell her that her sister stole her boyfriend overnight?" I sighed theatrically, pressing my hand to my cheek.

"We’re not dating!"

"I didn’t steal anybody!"

the blushing pair exclaimed at once.

"Hmph!" Tohsaka snorted coldly, glancing at the boy, who had already distanced himself from any ties with Sakura, then stomped off into the living room in annoyance.

"Why do you tease them?" Artoria looked at me sternly.

"Um... because it’s fun?" I replied, thrown off by the question.

"You mages are all the same," Saber muttered quietly, following Shirou.

"You know, that sounded almost like an insult," I protested as they ignored me; soon, we silently sat down at the negotiation table, waiting while Rin’s kettle boiled. She really did feel at home here.

When I was offered Japanese green tea—served without sugar or any desserts—I refused and glanced at Artoria and Mordred, who clearly had not planned to sit at the table right away, having figured out long ago that there would be no treats at this meeting.

Looking at how calmly they sat next to one another, I finally had to ask:

"Why are you both so calm? Didn’t you, I don’t know... kill each other? Are there really no hard feelings left?" The moment I asked, it felt as if time stood still: all attention focused on that "father and son" pair.

... But they were slow to answer, and I was already disappointed when Saber spoke first.

"I hold no grudge against Mordred. The fall of Camelot was just the result of my own poor decisions."

"You seriously don’t blame me?" Mordred was truly surprised, hope ringing in her voice. After all, her main motivation was to prove to Artoria that she was worthy of being king. She was always proud of her father.

... Artoria looked at Mordred with a complicated expression before nodding. "Yes."

"Ahem, sorry to interrupt, but we do have a few important topics on the agenda. And since not everyone here is used to Japanese tea traditions, why don’t we add some English ones?" True to my words, I pulled a tea set with a sugar bowl and a milk jug, freshly-brewed Earl Grey, and, of course, sandwiches and desserts from my inventory. "Of course, I can’t make everything perfect, and despite the presence of royalty, this isn’t an official royal reception."

"Um, if that’s more comfortable for you," Emiya said, a bit flustered, while Artoria and Mordred had already quietly joined me, making it obvious they were not about to reject the treats.

"Well, now that we’re all set, let me outline the main topics we need to discuss," I began.

"First—Tohsaka Rin. I hope you can briefly explain to Emiya Shirou what is happening and about the real world of magi. Second, I will explain why this war, and the last, could never have winners—and how this is connected to the catastrophe." At that, Shirou and Saber both grew somber, though for very different reasons: Shirou remembered the sea of fire and the corpses, while Artoria recalled how her guaranteed victory had been snatched away, and how she was forced to destroy the manifesting Holy Grail with her own hands. "And lastly, although it’s no less important, I’ll tell you about the difficult situations faced by two girls: Sakura Matou, formerly Tohsaka, and Illya von Einzbern. Once you hear about them, I doubt any of you will want to remain uninvolved."

"Oh, right—before we start, we should all introduce ourselves. I’ll go first," I said, getting to my feet and changing my outfit into the Princess of Condemnation’s dress, with a dark crown upon my head.

"I am Fischl von Luftschloss Narfidort, also known as Gojo Emi. The Princess of Condemnation, and the sovereign of Nirvana Noctis."