Originally, his name had simply been Ludwig.
But the moment he began to speak, the youth recalled his encounter in the Millennium Castle and the matter of that Princess. Since she had claimed his life was already hers—vowing to collect it herself before anyone else could—he figured he might as well travel under her banner. It seemed more interesting that way.
And so, he adopted the name of the Millennium Castle, Brunestud, as his own surname.
"Ho ho..." Rider let out a casual exclamation of intrigue. "Ludwig Van Brunestud. Rest assured, I shall settle the score for this arm sooner or later."
He waved the stump of his right arm as he spoke. There wasn't a hint of shadow in his expression; instead, he bore a proud attitude, like a warrior flaunting a scar as a medal of honor. After all, Iskandar was a king who led from the front, braving arrows and stones alongside his men. He was not the type to sit in the rear playing at politics, so a wound sustained on the battlefield was naturally never viewed as a disgrace.
"To be marked by the King of Conquerors himself is quite the honor," Ludwig said, his words sounding polite enough on the surface. "Though, that is assuming you aren't finished off by another Servant before then..."
"Hmph... I could say the same to you." Rider placed the unconscious Waver into the chariot. His Master had fainted from sheer terror during the lightning-charged charge of the war-cart.
"Oh, right. One more thing—Archer's True Name," Ludwig added. "That golden fellow is Gilgamesh, the Heroic King of Mesopotamia."
"That explains a lot." Rider gave a knowing smile and suddenly snapped his reins. "Then let us call it a night—unless you two plan on starting another round. Until we meet again, Saber! And you as well, young man!"
With that, the King of Conquerors steered his chariot into the sky with a single hand, vanishing into the distance in the blink of an eye.
On the other side, Saber, certain that the fighting was over, moved to pick up her unconscious Master. A patch of congealed blood stained the silver-haired woman's forehead, but the wound appeared to have already healed—a fact Saber confirmed upon inspection, allowing her a moment of relief. During the two massive impacts and the gales triggered by Ludwig's arrival, a stray stone had struck Irisviel's forehead. That was the true reason she had fainted.
Despite the injury to her left hand, Saber had learned the True Names of Rider, Lancer, and Archer. She considered the night's outcome to be a fair trade of gains and losses.
"Is she alright?" Ludwig asked.
"Yes, she is fine. She simply hasn't woken up yet." Saber lifted Irisviel into her arms.
In the brief moments while Rider had been talking to the youth, Saber had been reflecting on the future of the Holy Grail War. She had chosen to become a Servant and participate in this war for the sake of saving her ruined homeland. If... if her Master truly lost their life in this conflict, she did not believe she could simply abandon the fight.
The youth before her was, in terms of a potential Master, completely off the charts.
"As long as she's okay. I can't help but feel like it was my fault," Ludwig said, picking up the sword that had originally belonged to Archer from the ground. "As for tonight's spoils, I'll let this serve as my souvenir."
"...Ludwig Van Brunestud." Saber spoke again before turning to leave.
"No need for the full title. Just Ludwig is fine," the boy replied, shaking his head. "Something else on your mind? Did you change yours?"
Saber looked down at Irisviel, taking a long moment before she spoke.
"Regardless of how this Holy Grail War develops, should my Master unfortunately perish, I will consider joining forces with you. I must win this to the end and seize the Grail," she said softly.
Ludwig raised his eyebrows high. "The way you put that... it almost sounds like you're giving me permission to kill your Master and seize the contract for myself. You're even more decisive than I thought. Or perhaps this lady isn't your Master at all? Is she just a diversion for the real one?"
After all, while the Holy Grail War appeared to have rules, the reality of how one conducted the battle was quite flexible.
"...Then, if there is nothing else, I shall take my leave." Saber averted her eyes, declining to answer the youth's question. Even though she didn't say it, she knew her silence was as good as an admission that he had guessed correctly.
"Yeah, see you around. Maybe the next time we meet, it'll be for a new contract." Ludwig toyed with the sword in his hand as he walked in the opposite direction from Saber.
Hidden atop a high tower in the harbor, Kiritsugu Emiya—Saber's true Master—was observing the battlefield through a sniper scope equipped with night vision. He tracked Ludwig's retreating figure, intending to confirm his direction, when he was suddenly jolted by the youth's gaze snapping right toward him.
The boy smiled at Kiritsugu through the lens, startling him so badly that he jerked his head away from the scope. Thinking he must have been mistaken, Kiritsugu looked through the sights again, but the youth was nowhere to be found. Just as he thought he had lost the target, a relaxed voice drifted from behind him.
"And whose Master are you? Or perhaps you're just a Master's assistant?"
Ludwig was standing right behind him, perched on the protruding metal framework of the tower.
"..." Kiritsugu remained silent, a cold sweat instantly drenching his back.
He hadn't seen how the youth had approached at all. In his wireless earpiece, his assistant, Maiya Hisau, was urgently relaying information.
"Kiritsugu! That unidentified youth seems to be heading toward your—"
"...He's already here," Kiritsugu replied in a low voice, his eyes locked onto Ludwig.
"Humans—the Last-Seed—are not naturally born for combat; they must undergo training to step onto the battlefield. It seems that holds true regardless of the era," Ludwig mused to himself, looking down at Kiritsugu.
Kiritsugu was indeed far from the battlefield and his presence was well-concealed, but to an offensive species like the youth, the mere act of Kiritsugu aiming a gun at him was enough to expose his existence.
"So, which side do you belong to? Rider? Lancer? Archer? Or perhaps..." Ludwig asked, listing them off one by one. "Saber?"
When he finally reached Saber, Kiritsugu's brow tightened ever so slightly.
So that's it. The boy was now certain. He raised the longsword in his hand and swung it down toward Kiritsugu.
"Time alter, double accel!!"
The moment Ludwig swung the blade, Kiritsugu realized he could not engage the youth in combat. He immediately used his specialized magecraft to accelerate his movements, dodging the strike that had just been unleashed. Though he avoided a lethal blow, a deep wound was carved into his shoulder.
Kiritsugu scrambled and rolled off the gantry, plummeting toward the ground.
"Well, that was a bit sloppy, but his reactions are fast," Ludwig muttered.
Kiritsugu rolled several times upon hitting the ground before clutching his weapon and stumbling into the shadows of the buildings. Ludwig could have pursued him, but he had been fighting since the afternoon and was feeling a bit drained; he wasn't a machine capable of non-stop combat. Besides, he had only circled back to test the waters.
Leaping down from the gantry with the sword in hand, he glanced at the trail of blood but paid it no further mind, continuing his search for a way out of the warehouse district.
Then, under a nearby streetlight, he saw Merlin waiting for him, her hands clasped behind her back.
"Good work. That was quite an entertaining battle," she greeted him with a beaming smile.
"Easy for you to say, watching from the sidelines the whole time," Ludwig complained.
"My magecraft and support haven't even worn off yet, you know." Merlin snapped her fingers, and the enchantments slowly faded away. "Though, you didn't really need them; consider them just a little extra garnish."
Ludwig couldn't be bothered to keep bickering. He continued walking, and Merlin skipped along beside him.
"Do you have a place to go?"
"What?"
"Where do you plan on spending the night? If you have nowhere else, come with me. At least you'll have a roof over your head." Merlin dangled a magnetic key card in front of him. "It's only a decent hotel suite, but it'll do."
"...Lead the way."
Ludwig wasn't a masochist. Having a place to stay was certainly better than spending the night in the wild.
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