"..."
Waver Velvet and Iskandar returned to their temporary lodging, Waver's face sour as a bitter gourd the entire way.
"What's with that look, kid?"
"Keep it down..."
Waver grumbled, then slumped, his voice low. "Hey... Rider, do you think I'm... a burden?"
He recalled last night's humiliation in the sewers, his uselessness against the Outer God...
He thought back to why he'd traveled so far to join this Holy Grail War.
It began when his professor, Kayneth, tore up his painstakingly researched thesis.
Waver, Rider's Master, was a student of Kayneth, Archer's Master. Unlike Kayneth, born to a prestigious lineage, Waver came from humble roots. The Velvet family spanned only three generations.
Rumor had it his great-grandmother, a mage's mistress, learned rudimentary magecraft in whispers. His mother inherited it with a casual "cherish Mom's memories" mindset. Only Waver took magecraft seriously, but his Magic Circuits and Crest were pitifully weak. Still, he idolized magecraft. After his parents' deaths, he sold everything to fund his Clock Tower enrollment, arriving penniless.
A mage's Magic Circuits were largely hereditary, and Crest strength typically grew with generations. Waver, resentful of the magecraft world's bloodline obsession, spent years crafting a thesis challenging this. But Kayneth, the "genius," shredded it after a glance.
In truth, this was a blessing. Waver's thesis defied the Clock Tower's millennial aristocratic rule.
Kayneth, a noble, genuinely dismissed Waver's views, a staunch bloodline advocate. Tearing it up was partly to save Waver from being found dead in the hills.
But it crushed Waver's pride, driving him to join the Fourth Holy Grail War. By chance, he stole Kayneth's relic—a fragment of Iskandar's cloak—and summoned Rider in Fuyuki.
Waver had no grand wish, only a desire to prove himself and smirk at those who'd scorned him.
A childish motive led him into this war of wits and filth, betting his life.
His dreams were ground into dust by reality.
Servant battles, the terror of an Outer God, his cowardice against harsh truths... and the realization he was merely a spectator.
The world didn't revolve around anyone. There were no true protagonists—only luck, misfortune, and spectators.
"If Kayneth were Rider's Master, maybe you'd have a shot at your wish. What is it, anyway? World conquest?"
Waver knew Iskandar's might, but his weak mana supply limited Iskandar, forcing him to conserve for critical fights.
He imagined Kayneth, with his vast mana, unleashing Iskandar's full power.
Unbeknownst to him, Kayneth had summoned an even stronger Servant... and was already out of the game.
"What're you saying? We're partners to conquer the battlefield and reach the stars! Kid, haven't we faced countless fights together? Stop talking nonsense..."
Iskandar slapped Waver's head nearly knocking him over.
"Today, we've fought the same foes. That makes us friends. Stand tall with me!"
"Rider... but..."
"No buts, kid! Tomorrow's the release of Grand Conquest 2! Let's go!"
"No way!!!"
Boom, boom, boom!
A massive tremor shook the ground, glass shattering, screams echoing through the streets.
"What's that? An earthquake?"
Waver felt the vibrations, panic creeping in.
"No, kid. Someone's stirred the leyline..."
Iskandar sensed the disturbance in Fuyuki's spiritual veins. Then, a message reached all Masters and Servants—was it the Grail's command?
"Tomorrow night, come to this place for a Holy Grail War that may not shed blood. Those absent... forfeit!"
"Bold words..."
Iskandar grinned. This wasn't the Grail's voice—someone was using it.
...
"It's begun?"
Irisviel listened to Samuel's voice. Now part of his "Chaldea" organization, she was intrigued by his promise of a bloodless Holy Grail War without the Lesser Grail.
And...
She recalled Samuel's confident smile. For Irisviel, encountering a man so intimately stirred an odd feeling.
If Samuel knew, he'd diagnose it...
Stockholm Syndrome!
Samuel's overwhelming power crushed her resistance, and a well-timed favor won her over.
Like in ancient times: if a commoner nearly killed you over a misunderstanding but spared you, you'd hold a grudge. But if a king did the same, you'd be grateful—and dare not resent.
Absolute power erased defiance; a single kindness could sway the heart.
"What's wrong, Iris?"
"Nothing... Saber!"
***
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