"...I'm staying in this bookstore."
Holding the three books he had wrestled away from Iskandar, Waver pointed toward the bookstore in front of them.
"Anyway, do whatever you want—but don't leave this shopping district. If I get attacked, you'll disappear along with me."
"Hmph."
Iskandar turned his head away as though the warning had gone in one ear and out the other.
"And don't even think about conquering anything... or looting anyone."
Waver narrowed his eyes suspiciously.
"Huh?"
Iskandar blinked in surprise, wearing the unmistakable expression of someone whose thoughts had just been read.
"Why are you acting surprised?!"
Waver ground his teeth, pulled out his wallet, and shoved it into Iskandar's hand.
"No stealing."
"No eating without paying."
"If the police arrest you, I'm absolutely not bailing you out!"
"If there's something you want, buy it with money! Or do I have to use a Command Seal before you'll listen?"
As he spoke, Waver raised the Command Seals on the back of his right hand, trying his best to look intimidating.
Unfortunately...
The fierce expression he had worked so hard to put on looked less like a threat and more like a tiger cub trying to roar.
It was adorable.
"Hahahaha!"
"What kind of man do you take me for, boy?"
Iskandar threw his head back with a hearty laugh before affectionately ruffling Waver's bowl-cut with one enormous hand.
"The etiquette of Macedon would be considered the mark of a civilized gentleman in any royal court."
"That was over two thousand years ago, you idiot!"
Waver shouted back, his face turning bright red from frustration.
He genuinely worried that someone as overbearing—and as lacking in modern common sense—as Iskandar would end up causing trouble.
"Alright, alright."
"I got it."
"See you later, kid."
Waving lazily over his shoulder, Iskandar shoved both hands into his pockets and set off on his sightseeing adventure.
"Honestly..."
Watching his Servant's broad back disappear into the crowd, Waver sighed before finally making his way into the bookstore, glancing back every few steps.
Before browsing, he carefully informed the cashier that he was bringing three personal books inside so they wouldn't be mistaken for the store's inventory.
Professor Kayneth hadn't chosen those books at random.
Yet among them...
There wasn't a single biography of Alexander the Great.
Professor must have wanted me to investigate on my own.
After all... Rider's Master is me.
Understanding your own Servant is one of a Master's responsibilities.
Such an extraordinary historical figure is standing right in front of me...
And yet I hardly know anything about him.
Professor probably thinks I'm being careless.
I need to do my homework.
Encouraging himself, Waver wandered into the history section.
Kayneth's earlier question echoed once again in his mind.
Why did you steal my Catalyst just to participate in this Holy Grail War?
Little by little...
The answer became clear.
It wasn't because he absolutely had to win the Holy Grail War.
He simply wanted to prove something.
To prove to Professor Kayneth—and everyone else who looked down on him—that even without the natural talent for magecraft recognized by the world...
He could carve out his own path.
He could earn recognition through his own efforts.
"Alexander..."
"Alexander..."
"Alexander..."
"Oh!"
"There it is."
Walking between towering bookshelves, Waver's gaze landed upon a hardcover biography of Alexander the Great.
Its deep crimson cover immediately caught his eye.
Whether by coincidence or fate...
The color was almost identical to Iskandar's crimson cloak.
Smiling unconsciously, Waver pulled the book from the shelf.
He sat down on the floor, leaned against the bookcase, and eagerly began reading with the excitement of someone finally opening a long-awaited treasure.
"...After conquering new lands, Alexander entrusted governance and taxation to the local nobility before withdrawing his army and continuing eastward."
Reading that passage...
Waver suddenly remembered a dream he'd had not long ago.
In the dream...
Iskandar led an enormous army toward some distant destination.
Dense white mist obscured whatever lay ahead.
Only the sound of waves crashing against a shoreline echoed in the distance.
At the time...
The dream had seemed completely meaningless.
Now...
He finally understood.
He was simply trying to reach the ocean at the edge of the world.
Just like the battle cry he shouted while leading the Ionioi Hetairoi against Assassin...
The Endless Sea!
So... he kept conquering simply because he wanted to find that endless ocean?
What an unbelievably simple-minded musclehead...
...He's almost kind of adorable.
The thought made Waver smile without realizing it.
He continued reading, hoping to learn more about the man known as Alexander the Great.
He wanted to understand how that crude, overbearing giant had inspired so many followers...
How he had earned the unwavering loyalty of every Heroic Spirit within Ionioi Hetairoi.
"Even though he's basically just a big musclehead..."
Waver muttered under his breath.
A wave of warm breath suddenly brushed against his ear.
"Oi, kid."
"Who exactly were you calling a musclehead?"
"I don't recall ever doing anything that uncouth in front of you."
"And honestly..."
"You're so tiny that once you hide behind these bookshelves, you're impossible to find."
"It took me quite a while to track you down."
"Eek—!"
Waver nearly jumped out of his skin.
Looking up in panic...
He found Iskandar towering over him.
The oversized long-sleeved shirt he'd been wearing earlier—decorated with artwork from that strategy game—had somehow been replaced with a camouflage field jacket modified from military combat gear.
One hand carried a white canvas shopping bag.
The other rested heavily on top of the bookshelf above Waver's head.
Wearing a broad, "kind" smile...
Iskandar slowly leaned closer.
His neck seemed almost impossibly long as his face drew nearer and nearer.
"N-Nothing!"
Waver stammered.
He hurriedly tried to hide the book titled The Tale of the King of Conquerors.
Too late.
With lightning-fast reflexes, Iskandar effortlessly plucked it from his hands.
"Hey!"
"Give it back!"
"Give it back already!"
Waver jumped up desperately, trying to snatch the book away.
Unfortunately...
Iskandar simply held it high above his head.
No matter how hard Waver tried, he couldn't even come close.
At best, he managed to hop high enough to slap Iskandar's enormous pectoral muscles.
"Let's see..."
"What kind of book has you so absorbed?"
Completely ignoring Waver's tearful, embarrassed expression—and the utterly ineffective punches raining against his chest—Iskandar opened the book.
After reading only two pages...
He burst into booming laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"Kid!"
"Isn't this my biography?"
Still laughing, Iskandar vigorously rubbed Waver's hair again.
The grin on his face refused to disappear.
"You really are a strange one."
"I'm standing right here in front of you."
"So why not just ask me directly?"
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