"Ah... another day of wanting to die."
Waver, who no longer looked like the delicate youth he once was and now looked entirely like a corporate slave dying from years of overtime, sat on his sofa with a cigar in his mouth, his face full of exhaustion.
It was as if he had encountered an endless lottery event and had been forced by his Master to eat thousands of Golden Apples to keep working.
"Even if you die, as long as we use some necromancy, we can pull you back up to work. You might even be more durable than you are now."
The blonde girl sitting opposite him said these terrifying words with a smile.
Waver sat up straight, barely managing to muster some energy, and looked at the girl. "So, why are you looking for me? I have a class in a bit."
"The Holy Grail War from 10 years ago is happening again. What do you think?"
"It has nothing to do with me. Whoever wants to participate can go ahead. In the last war, with that monster around, no one could have won. I bet in this war, the survivors from the last one will definitely try everything to summon that guy."
Thinking of that Assassin, who could not be remembered as soon as he left one's sight, Waver felt a shiver of terror.
He wasn't sure if it was because the end of the war caused the Servant's personal ability to fail, but it was only after the war completely ended that Waver remembered the whole sequence of events and finally learned how his Servant had died. Otherwise, he would probably still be in a daze even now.
In fact, that was exactly the case.
At that moment, inside the Tohsaka residence, Rin Tohsaka watched her father place books on philosophy one by one onto the summoning circle. She looked at Tokiomi Tohsaka in confusion and asked, "Father, what are you doing? Shouldn't we be summoning Heroic Spirit Servants like heroes from the Age of Gods? Why are you using these philosophy books?"
"To summon an Assassin who, as long as he can be summoned, will surely bring victory."
Tokiomi did not say much. In his heart, he had originally believed that the oldest King of Heroes was the strongest, but that King had been dealt with head-on by an Assassin.
And that Assassin did not care for glory or honor at all. He would use any means of assassination. As long as they summoned that one, victory in the Holy Grail War would basically be guaranteed. The hardest part would be negotiating with him for the right to use the Grail.
However, judging from past events, that individual did not seem to care much about the Grail anyway, so summoning him meant they would surely win.
Rin looked at her father with a face full of disbelief. Ultimately, she could only sigh helplessly. Once the books were ready, the circle was drawn, and the time was right, she began the incantation.
Of course, a certain red-clad, white-haired miracle man appeared as usual.
Caelus and Cyrene stood hand in hand by the Fuyuki City Bridge, quietly watching the dusk and the setting sun.
"Master, if the Holy Grail really could grant any wish, what kind of wish would you want to make?"
Cyrene suddenly spoke.
"I don't have any strong desire I want to fulfill, so I would let the Grail grant your wish."
Caelus said this without a second thought.
"Then my wish is that we can accompany each other forever in each other's futures."
"Then your wish has long since been granted. Even after being eroded by the Void, we can still retain parts of our existence. We will never be apart again."
"You claim you're still not very good at this kind of emotion, but when you speak, you really seem to know what you're doing!"
"After all, I have records of memories in this area. I know what appropriate things to say in what kind of scene. I'm not a block of wood."
Cyrene smiled upon hearing this, then watched the sun about to sink below the horizon and spoke in a somewhat ethereal tone.
"Partner, there will be another me in that universe. That me might still be waiting for another you to save her. But whenever I think about someone just like me falling into the arms of another person, it feels so strange."
"Partner, can you let me be the Cyrene who belongs only to you?"
Caelus turned his head to look at Cyrene beside him.
"If that is what you want to do, I will support you."
"Thank you for your support, Partner."
Cyrene leaned her whole body against Caelus. With the arrival of dusk and the drop in temperature, a cold wind blew by, and Cyrene seemed to be a bit chilled, her body shivering slightly.
Caelus naturally knew that Cyrene couldn't possibly be chilled by a mere cold wind, but he also understood exactly why she was doing this.
So, Caelus took off his trench coat, wrapped it around Cyrene, and then pulled her into his embrace, using his own body heat to let the girl in his arms feel warmth.
Even though both of them knew they would not feel any discomfort from such a minor temperature change, Cyrene was simply coveting her Partner's warm embrace at this moment. As for Caelus, he was merely responding to the request of the person who was undoubtedly most important to him and who would accompany him into eternity.
"Partner."
"Yes."
"I like you."
"Yes."
"I love you."
"Yes."
"Really, I'm being so direct with my approach. Partner, you should at least say something."
"I haven't completely understood liking and loving yet, nor have I completely prepared myself to be a husband. I am an unqualified lover, so before then, I won't say 'love' or 'like' lightly."
"Cyrene, the only promise I can give is that you are my only one."
Cyrene's eyes were completely blurred with emotion. These blunt words were even more intoxicating than a simple declaration of love.
Caelus looked at Cyrene's moist eyes and this familiar situation, and suddenly understood. Although there were still many things he could not comprehend, thanks to the waltz between Wilhelm and his wife, he realized that for the Partner who loved him, the best response was...
He lowered his head and kissed the girl once more.
However, this time, the kiss between the two did not last long, breaking apart after just a few minutes.
Caelus looked at Cyrene and said, "It's time to eat. What do you want to eat tonight?"
Cyrene's previously blurred eyes regained their clarity. Seeing her Partner's usual calm demeanor, she now felt a sort of silly, adorable charm from him.
"Food! But can tonight's dishes be a bit sweeter?"
"Yes, of course. On the way to buy groceries, we can also pick up some small cakes."
"Yay! We get to eat cake..."
The two walked hand in hand through the gradually darkening night and into the flickering neon lights.
They were so special, yet so ordinary.
Specifically, their existence was special, but the emotions within them were ordinary.
The emotions of every pair of foolish lovers are perhaps the same.
(To be continued.)