"Shirou! You actually dared to get a tattoo on the back of your hand. I'm telling Mom and Dad!"
"Illya, no, Big Sister! Please don't! I don't have a tattoo. I don't know when this pattern suddenly appeared on the back of my hand!"
...
"The Command Spells of the Holy Grail War? A Holy Grail that can grant any wish... As long as I get it, I can wish to be with Senpai forever."
"What heavy feelings. I've said it before, don't go jumping over the high bar when you have nothing to do, but Shirou just won't listen."
"Does Brother have some kind of problem with me?"
"Oh, the weather is really nice today. Ah, I have plans tonight, so I'll be leaving now. Goodbye."
...
Caelus untied the apron he was wearing and brought the prepared sweet and sour pork ribs and sweet and sour fish fillets to the table. Cyrene, who was standing by the window and looking at the night view of Fuyuki City, said, "Partner, that red Archer on the tall building in the distance is watching us."
Hearing this, Caelus stepped forward and stood by the window. He looked toward the top of the distant tall building in Fuyuki. There stood a red figure invisible to others, staring back at the two of them from a great distance.
"This world line has indeed been interfered with. But as long as we don't provoke him, there shouldn't be any trouble."
Whether it was due to the interference of the Counter Force or not, the red Archer still remembered the events of that distorted Singularity, and he still remembered the experience of being killed in an instant.
"Sigh! I wonder how that Singularity is doing now. Honestly, this deliberate retention of memories is just disgusting. Since when did the Counter Force have such bad taste?"
After the man grumbled for a bit, he shifted his gaze, preparing to see what kind of life his other self was living in this interfered world line.
Caelus and Cyrene also withdrew their gazes. Although they had devoured that Guardian's existence, it was merely a summoned Servant avatar. It had not affected the Heroic Spirit's main body. After all, Caelus had a local residency permit, so to speak, and would not be so tactless as to do anything too excessive.
"Let's eat. As long as it doesn't affect us, these matters have nothing to do with us."
Caelus had no thoughts about this Holy Grail War either. After all, the Black Holy Grail had already been taken away and consumed by him. Thus, this time, the Holy Grail, free from All the World's Evil, should be able to function perfectly. He just did not know who would win this time.
The next day.
Inside the church, after Caelus and Cyrene walked in together, he saw Kirei dressed in priest's robes, with a young girl in a nun's habit standing beside him.
"Caelus, this is my daughter, Caren. She was living abroad during that Holy Grail War, and I brought her back shortly after it ended."
Kirei introduced her, then looked at Caelus and Cyrene. Noticing that neither of them had Command Spells on the backs of their hands, he said, "I assume you are not here to participate in this Holy Grail War."
"That's right. We just came back to see how the people I've met are doing now."
"I must thank you for your guidance back then. Although I was still lost for a while, recalling the words you said helped me find the meaning of my life."
"Making mapo tofu?"
"That is only the surface. In essence, I enjoy seeing how people face suffering. Some may persevere through it with strength, some may be defeated by it and never recover, and some will try to find the meaning of self within suffering. I like people's reactions when they face suffering."
Kirei had a pleasant smile on his face.
"Just like that special mapo tofu, made with special techniques and seasoned with consecrated holy water. If someone can face the suffering and eat an entire plate, it will inevitably bring long-term improvements to their body. But if they cannot persevere, it only brings the slight benefit of that one bite."
"That is only the most direct, physical suffering. In life, the suffering people must face is far more complex and varied. Miracles are born from hardship, and philosophy is born from hardship. What kind of changes will hardship breed? That is what I want to see."
"Then congratulations on finding your direction in life. I came here this time to say goodbye. I don't know when we will meet again, so I am saying farewell to you, someone I can barely call a friend."
"In this Holy Grail War, that King is also participating. Aren't you going to see an old acquaintance?"
"Better not. After all, there isn't much worth mentioning between her and me."
Caelus shook his head. He and King Arthur had never been friends. They had been on opposite sides both times. Meeting again might lead to swords being drawn, so it was better to skip it.
"Upon parting, let me give you a gift."
After Caelus finished speaking, a pure white feather appeared in his hand. Then he gently exhaled, and the white feather drifted forward, eventually landing in Kirei's outstretched palm.
"You can name this feather whatever you like. Regardless, this power comes from a gift from your Lord. Carrying this feather will improve the wearer's physical fitness and resistance to disease over the years. If the wearer encounters a death that is not from natural old age, the feather itself will be consumed to revive the carrier in a short time and grant them certain special abilities."
Hearing that this feather came from the Lord's grace, Kirei immediately held the feather in both hands with extreme solemnity. Even during those hollow and empty years, he still held devout faith in the Lord. Even in his original destiny, where Gilgamesh pointed him toward the path of a seeker of pleasure, he still retained his devout faith.
"Amen."
Kirei held the feather in both hands, closed his eyes, and prayed devoutly for a moment. When he opened his eyes and carefully tucked the feather away, the two people at the church entrance had already vanished.
"Father, was he the Assassin who taught you about the existence of humanity?"
Caren, who had been silent at the side, asked.
"Yes, it was he who enlightened me. I just didn't expect that he would actually receive the Lord's grace. Caren, you shall carry this feather with you."
"Yes, Father."
"Since this holy relic can improve physical fitness, the weak constitution you inherited from your mother should improve soon. After that, you shall learn Bajiquan from me."
...
Warhammer world.
Caelus came to this world once again. However, this time, he did not see the hive city that reached into the sky as he had before. Instead, he saw a world full of vitality. The once barren land now had life, and water flowed through the dried-up riverbeds once more.
The original industrial world was now bursting with life, completely devoid of the barrenness caused by heavy industrial pollution.
"Is this still the world I visited before?"
Caelus asked the system.
"That's right. This is indeed the world you visited before."
After receiving the system's answer, Caelus looked around once more. What exactly had happened to make this world recover?
(To be continued.)
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◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 200 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on Pat if you're interested: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves (Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)