Beside the graveyard, in a dilapidated wooden cabin.
Though Roy considered himself someone who wasn't particularly fond of luxury or overly concerned with his living conditions.
Whether it was an old abandoned apartment, a parking lot buried dozens of levels underground, or even sleeping in a cavern workshop built atop a leyline a hundred meters below the surface alongside Lev, as long as it was barely habitable and provided a place to rest, he wouldn't complain much. But ever since entering this so-called short-term lodging in Bersac's cabin, he suddenly felt that Kayneth's earlier words might have been right—he was a noble after all, and he shouldn't settle so easily.
This damned rundown shack was a miracle for not collapsing entirely.
The creaking wooden floorboards underfoot and the worm-eaten walls were one thing, but the bedding and blankets, unwashed for who knew how many days and nights, covered in dust and mites, made Roy seriously doubt if this was really Bersac's home or just an unused storage room. He had no idea what mindset the old man had when leading him here—it felt like pure, deliberate retaliation.
'I was too hasty in agreeing to stay here. I should have spent the night at the church instead. I got so caught up in the excitement of the clues I'd found that I overlooked this environment worse than a dungeon.'
And so, not long after Bersac left, Roy, having come to his senses, slowly set down his suitcase. With a simple wind spell combined with a water spell, he gave the entire cabin a surface-level deep clean, barely transforming it from a place not even a dog would stay in to something tolerable for an overnight. As for that wretched blanket etched with stories and years of grime, after being rinsed with water and scorched inside and out with flames, it finally reached a usable state. But due to his mental aversion, Roy merely used it as a cushion, sitting cross-legged on it and attempting to close his eyes to drift into sleep.
Roy had just settled his mind, directing his thoughts toward Avalon to seek out Merlin for further training in illusion magecraft, or to inquire about the Black Madonna statue and investigate the issues with Morgan's magical arrangements.
However, this time, Avalon and the dream realm failed to connect.
No matter how he tried to call out, the Avalon embedded in his chest gave no response, and he couldn't contact Merlin. It seemed the bounded field here had severed the dream pathway, cutting off Merlin as an external aid.
Noticing this abnormality, Roy couldn't help but gently open his eyes.
After repeated confirmations, though inwardly surprised, he quickly accepted the situation upon considering whose territory this was.
After all, this was Morgan's workshop, the domain of a great witch from the Age of Gods. Before coming here, Roy had asked about the specifics, but gained nothing. Even Merlin's Clairvoyance EX couldn't pierce the witch's bounded field to observe inside. Probably only the owner, Morgan le Fay, fully knew the arrangements within.
As one of Merlin's archenemies, their relationship had soured to the extreme from the moment Artoria was tricked into becoming king—no, even from the instant of her birth. While Merlin understood Morgan, the reverse was equally true. So, it wasn't strange at all that Morgan had set up a bounded field here to block dreams.
He just felt a bit of regret...
After all, no matter how unreliable that Merlin could be, always scheming to trip him up, for now, their interests aligned. Facing Morgan, her Clairvoyance EX and vast knowledge were incredibly useful. Losing Merlin's assistance suddenly was like crippling Roy's most vital external clairvoyance.
She was indeed a tricky opponent...
And the situation went beyond that.
What truly troubled Roy's heart now was that peculiar sensation.
Ever since entering this land, he felt an invisible gaze watching him from the darkness. He'd noticed it while talking to Gray, initially assuming it was Bersac, but upon defeating the old man, he realized the gaze's source wasn't him. Even as he stayed alert, scanning with his senses and even using Avalon and the Holy Grail as bait, the watcher revealed nothing. This surprised Roy. Especially in that church, upon seeing the pitch-black Madonna statue and locking eyes with Morgan le Fay in that instant, the feeling became extraordinarily clear.
He realized Morgan might be hidden in this land, monitoring his every move through unknown means. She'd even severed the connection between dreams and Avalon—was it to prevent him from finding her?
Roy wasn't sure, but if so, Morgan had succeeded admirably. Without Merlin's clairvoyance, he'd struggle to locate her in this land on his own.
She was in the shadows, he in the light. For now, he could only search for Lev while groping for clues.
However, sensing that Morgan might be watching him.
Roy covered his face, turned his gaze toward the wall, and spoke aloud in a feigned manner: "It's you watching me, isn't it? Morgan le Fay."
"..."
Yet the air held only dead silence, with no voice responding. Even as Roy tried to communicate, he received no reply.
So...
He could infer two possibilities: first, Morgan had no interest in acknowledging him; second, Morgan was currently unable to respond. Either way, it made little difference to him.
Since he was just sitting around anyway, Roy decided to treat it as a review session. He took out a few pieces of gold and gems from his suitcase as mediums and drew Merlin's taught illusion ritual on the pitch-black wooden wall, projecting everything that had happened on Artoria's side during the Fourth Holy Grail War.
And as expected, though the hidden peeping from the darkness persisted, when the projection of Artoria's grand adventure in the Holy Grail War played, the attention on him diminished noticeably.
'So... this pan-human history Morgan is really, as Merlin said and as those forums speculated in my previous life, some kind of extreme sister-obsessed type?'
Roy couldn't help but muse inwardly.
Still, this outcome seemed quite reasonable.
After all, if not sister-obsessed, then Morgan harbored some special emotions toward her sister Artoria, like guilt or something. Otherwise, it was hard to explain why she'd set up such an elaborate revival ritual after Artoria's death.
He didn't have any major grudge against Morgan, really—just that he'd preempted her by reviving Artoria first? No, she hadn't truly died, which in a way fulfilled Morgan's goal alternatively. Their biggest conflict was that he'd turned her millennium of effort into a farce. Though she might have that "madwoman of Britain" trait, Roy still preferred resolving things as peacefully as possible.
Thus, under the illusion magecraft's playback, Roy sat on the bed, accompanying that gaze fixated on Artoria's figure as they watched earnestly to the end. He even supplemented with details about Artoria's experiences in the Fourth Holy Grail War.
...
Soon, time blinked by to daylight.
Sitting on the bed, Roy yawned, stretching lazily toward the rising sun outside the window.
Due to that peeping gaze, closing his eyes made him wonder if a white-haired, Takeuchi-faced figure might stab him with a dagger, so he hadn't slept. The night had been mere rest with eyes closed. The wall illusion had vanished midway too, as he wasn't Emiya Kiritsugu and could only select parts he'd witnessed of Artoria; he knew nothing more.
However, the gaze seemed satisfied with his actions—at least under his current senses, that stalker-like peeping had indeed vanished, allowing Roy to sigh in relief inwardly.
"Still, this cabin is a bit chilly..."
Rubbing his neck after leaning against the wall all night, Roy murmured as he got off the bed. Such all-nighters were routine for him, but staying vigilant under a witch's gaze in her workshop had drained him mentally. He dared not let his guard down here.
'Today, I'll search the buildings atop this village thoroughly—starting with the more distinctive or ancient ones, since Lev, with his Atlas Institute background, loves excavating such old sites.'
'...Though the village isn't large, its people are extremely xenophobic. A stranger like me wandering around would cause unnecessary panic. I could use illusions to handle it, but I'm not familiar with the terrain. To find the target quickly, I need a local guide.'
"Speaking of which, where's that Bersac guy?"
Pondering this, Roy suddenly thought of the old gravedigger.
Hadn't he said he'd come early morning to guide him? Why no sign at this hour?
Thinking so, Roy glanced at his pocket watch, which showed around eight in the morning—clearly past "early."
Had the old man run into trouble? Morgan's doing? Or something else...
'Knock, knock, knock...'
Just as Roy puzzled over this, a knocking came from the door.
He initially thought it was Bersac, but the gentle force didn't match the burly old man who wielded a one-handed axe with flair, so he called out.
"Who is it?"
"Um... that is, I'm the guide Master sent. To lead you in searching for your companion... We met last night."
The response from outside was an extremely familiar, warm and soft voice, belonging to a young child.
"Gray, is it..."
He nodded, murmuring to himself.
Then he rose, walked to the wooden door, and opened it. With the morning chill rushing in, a petite, adorable figure came into view—it was indeed Gray.
Last night had been too rushed, and the darkness obscured her, so he hadn't seen her fully. Now, in the morning light, Roy truly beheld the girl's appearance.
Before him stood a little girl in a black cloak, with a face nearly nine-tenths identical to Artoria and Morgan's, though still carrying a touch of childishness. Strands of silver hair dangled from the hood's gaps. She was very young and short, not even reaching his waist, her whole body wrapped in that gray-black mantle.
Observing closely, Roy figured she was about five or six.
Probably around the same age as Lev or Sakura, a peer in the little girl category.
Noticing Roy's appraising gaze, Gray looked up, her emerald-like eyes meeting his, timidly speaking: "H-hello... Good morning. My name is Gray... Master sent me to show you around the village... and find your companion..."
"..."
Roy didn't reply immediately, still staring intently while pondering certain matters.
If his deductions were correct, the situation was likely this—
The Gray before him bore an identical face to Artoria due to the influence of Morgan's ritual array laid across this land. The witch's ceremony had selected the most age-appropriate villager with the highest synchronization to Artoria, altering Gray's face and body to the optimal state as a vessel for King Arthur. Thus, Gray was revered by the gravedigger village as the divine child who would summon King Arthur in the future. Once the time ripened, Gray would yield her body to Artoria's soul, reviving her, completing the village's mission and easily lifting the curse. That's why the village's gravedigger, Bersac, took her as an apprentice to cultivate—though more accurately, to protect.
As for whether Gray would become a gravedigger, the villagers, imprisoned for over a millennium, didn't care. They only wanted her to revive King Arthur, lift their curse, and regain freedom.
And the outcome...
Originally, the plan had promise, especially after sensing King Arthur's presence in the Fourth Holy Grail War, completing the cycle and activation. However—
Neither Morgan nor any gravediggers anticipated that, under Roy's gentle guidance and direct confrontations, Artoria would choose to live anew, rejecting her fated death and vanishing into history. This rendered the meticulously prepared revival ritual utterly impossible.
Thus, Gray could never serve as the sacrifice to revive King Arthur.
Morgan had realized this belatedly, but the villagers likely hadn't. If things continued, their curse might never lift in this lifetime.
"Gray... is it? Hello again. My name is Roy Crowley." After appraising the girl, Roy greeted her warmly.
"Um... it's good to see you're alright." Gray nodded quickly, asking with concern: "Did... did I disturb you?"
"No."
Roy shook his head. "I just finished recovering my energy. Actually, you came at the perfect time—I was about to seek your master's help. Want to come in and sit? I'll prepare a few things, and we can set off."
"O-okay... Thank you..."
Gray politely thanked him, preparing to step inside and wait briefly with Roy. However, an untimely voice suddenly rang out—
"Aaah! Hold on, Gray! Be careful! This guy has a scent that really rubs me the wrong way!!"
Unlike Gray's quiet demeanor, this was a lively, even overly noisy, complex voice.
'It's still here, huh?'
Hearing it, Roy's eyes lit up slightly, while Gray hurriedly covered the thing in her pocket and pulled it out.
"Add, not so loud. This is in front of a guest—mind your manners."
Looking closely, it was a neatly edged cube engraved with strange patterns, like a Rubik's cube, but currently confined in a small birdcage by Gray.
Roy recognized the odd object in Gray's hand.
[Add]
At least, that's what Gray called it.
But Roy preferred calling it the Logos React Replica, the Tower at the End, or the Anchor of the Planet. It was one of his key objectives here.
However, watching the strange cube protesting to Gray, Roy's expression turned a bit odd.
Though this Add matched his memories—its personality modeled after Artoria's foster brother, Sir Kay of the Round Table, making it very noisy—what caught his attention wasn't the personality, but the aura... Yes, it had the Holy Lance's presence, but the aura seemed far too weak. Was it due to the seal? The situation felt off.
He was curious.
But seeing Gray and Add start bickering, he didn't rush to seize Add and investigate, planning to wait until later.
"Alright, alright, dummy Gray, I know to be quiet. But this kid's scent is way too familiar—there's a really annoying fragrance and a drowsy vibe, yet also Artoria-chan's presence... What's going on here?"
"Drowsy vibe?"
Gray's expression grew odd at that, quizzically eyeing the Add in her hand: "Add, didn't you say you spent all the time before I woke you in slumber? How could it feel familiar? Is Mr. Crowley someone you knew before sleeping?"
"No, of course not—you think I'm that old?! I'm not talking about him personally, but a really annoying and familiar scent. It's sweet like flowers, intoxicating like dreams, and讨厌 like a scumbag. Aaah~ This feeling is bad news. Didn't expect to smell that guy's scent in this form—talk about lingering haunt..."
"What kind of weird description is that?"
After hearing it, Gray's expression turned stranger.
But Add and Roy locked eyes then, clearly both knowing what was meant.
Confirming the look, Add directly asked Roy: "Hey, kid, if I'm not wrong, you've got ties to that bastard dream demon who deserves to be hacked to death hundreds of times over, right? Got something he left? Or what? And you've got a faint Artoria scent too... You're full of surprises."
Hacked to death hundreds of times and still deserving it—the dream demon...
Roy was no stranger to this title; he'd even dealt with that pervert countless times himself.
"You mean Merlin?"
"Aaah!! It is him!!"
Hearing Roy's answer, Add let out a wail like a banshee.
"That damned perverted bastard, it really is him! What a cursed fate—even after all these years dead, he won't let me rest. Quick, tell me, kid—what happened to Merlin? Wasn't he sealed in the tower till the end of the world? How'd he get involved with you? And Artoria-chan's scent is obvious too—how'd you meet both her and Merlin?"
Mentioning Artoria made Add's tone urgent.
"...Well, there's a lot of complexity there. But Merlin and I are connected via dreams—she's sort of my illusion magecraft professor now, so some entanglement is normal. As for Artoria, I met her a few times in the Holy Grail War and became friends. The familiar scent you sense is probably from this..."
Roy pointed to his chest, where Avalon's light faintly flickered.
"It's Avalon! I knew it! Didn't expect you to have that kind of bond with Artoria-chan, and Avalon on you too... But what do you mean by [she]?"
Seeing Avalon's glow and sensing the familiar aura, Add shouted excitedly. It was about to ask how his sister fared upon reunion, but then caught a bizarre point in Roy's words.
Like calling Merlin "Mari," and... [she]?
Hearing Merlin turned into Mari, Add screamed as if witnessing horror: "Whoa!! Did that pervert actually cut off his own junk?!"
But it quickly realized something amiss.
"Wait, that doesn't add up— that guy doesn't even have a gender to begin with."
"..."
Roy eyed the excitable Sir Kay, inwardly speechless. No wonder Merlin mentioned this Kay during her adventure tales. If nothing else, his personality alone was entertainment gold. He and Merlin were the type to get along—or rather, the type Merlin loved toying with most.
However, seeing Gray beside them, brain-fried and blankly unable to follow Add and Roy's conversation, Roy shook his head and opened the door wider, inviting her and Add inside.
"I have many ties to Merlin and Artoria—explaining it all is complicated. Anyway, come in and sit first. Later, I'll tell you a story about me and them."
"And it's not just between them... Actually, I have some fate with you too, Gray-chan. While I'm here to find my companion, part of my goal is for you and Add as well."
"For me and Add...?"
Hearing Roy's unmasked reply, Gray's eyes involuntarily showed panic, instinctively wanting to flee. But under Add's encouraging reminders nearby, she halted, turning back to Roy.
Though she couldn't understand their dialogue, Add said: "If he can use Avalon and has ties to Artoria and Merlin, he's probably not bad. Even that old gravedigger Bersac said the kid's trustworthy, right? So what's to hesitate? Perfect timing—I want to know Artoria's status too!"
Thus, encouraged by Add, Gray mustered courage to trust Roy and entered the room. Though the words just now baffled her, an odd intuition deep inside told her—[This man isn't bad at all; he's trustworthy, and he's surely someone extraordinary.]
Moreover, mentioning Artoria made Gray's heart race.
She knew that was King Arthur's name.
Not just Add, who cared for Artoria—at this moment, she yearned even more to learn about King Arthur, and that future belonging to her—
Destiny (Fate.)
***
If you enjoyed this story, don't forget to drop 5 stars and your power stone. And if you want to read more than 70 chapters in advance, feel free to visit: pat reon . com / KangTL