Fate: A Dragon's Journey

A/N: Currently writing Sakura's lemon. Gimme stones if you want to read it faster!

***

The past came to haunt Artoria once again. Gilgamesh was already enough headache for her. Now, she had to deal with another foe. In the final battle of Camlann, Artoria's rhongomyniad had dealt the finishing blow to the Treacherous Knight, while she perished minutes after the battle. Nothing good ever came from their clash, and it probably won't change even in the modern era.

Artoria assumed a calm expression. "Master, Mordred will come for me."

Haruki peered into her eyes with a smile. "I don't doubt that. Right now isn't the time to fight her. Semi, can you go deeper into the Ryuudou Temple?"

Semiramis raised her head. "A bounded field stopped my doves."

"Sucks." Haruki remained silent for a while. "That's it, then. The discussion is over for now."

"But we barely discussed—" Rin paused when Haruki's gaze penetrated her.

"Rin, we need to talk. Medea, Sakura, join me."

He left his throne and stood before the table. Medusa and Emiya were given free rein. Medusa opted to stick around with him in spiritual form while Emiya went outside to enjoy some solitary peace. Haruki asked Cu Chulainn to assist Semiramis, but Semiramis looked at him with glazed eyes.

"What about our rest, my master? Am I uninvited now?" Semiramis was utterly curious why Rin was suddenly so important. Something was going on, and she wanted to be part of it all. "Can I join please?"

"Come if you like." Haruki shrugged. "I was going to talk about your Hanging Gardens."

Rin was a crucial piece in bringing the materials for the Hanging Gardens.

So, Haruki, flanked by Medea, Sakura, Rin, Artoria, and Semiramis, entered his newly built room. Rather, it was the same old room with a fresh coat of paint.

"I'm glad it's like this," Medea muttered, recalling their first time on the bed. "Haruki-sama, are we selling those?"

"Your instincts are on point." Haruki opened the drawer and picked up the pouch Magical Essences, the crystallized life source of the monsters he had killed in the Land of Dead. He tossed one over to Rin, who almost fumbled her catch. "I want to sell these to the Mage's Association."

Rin felt the surge of magical energy inside the white marble. Sakura curiously picked one marble up and felt the magic power surging through its core. She couldn't utilize magecraft when the worm crests kept devouring her magic power. It wasn't the case now. Her magic sensitivity was on par if not greater than Rin, the genius mage.

"Did you transfer your magical energy?" Rin peeked into the drawer to find a collection of different sized marbles. "Incredible. It's worth decades of my magical energy."

They were just like jewels her family had used for decades. It had to be noted that the containers filled with magical energy were worth a fortune. Magus could use these jewels to instantaneously cast a high-level spell without consuming any magical energy. The lofty price for the jewels was the main reason for the Tohsaka family's decline, well, Kotomine Kirei also played a big role by haphazardly throwing away stuff.

But the Tohsaka family had Sakura now, and Haruki by extension. Rin was assured of the Tohsaka Clan's rise in the future. The Clocktower would bow down to the dominant power of a dragon within decades!

Rin examined the white marble with narrowed eyes. "These will be worth millions of yen."

Mage's Association even bought a mage's body fluids for their magical energy. These marbles would certainly be in high demand among the magus families, who were always low on such resources for their research.

Haruki smiled at Rin's interest in the magical essence. "I can bring a lot more if you are ready to trade them with the association."

"What do you want in exchange?" Rin frowned. "If it's for money, we can do this—"

"I don't need money." Haruki shook his head. "I need some specific materials from Iraq and Baghdad. A lot of them actually."

"My master," Semiramis said, sounding a tad emotional. "The cost is too high… will these tiny marbles be enough?"

The marbles were worthless in the eyes of a sorceress such as Semiramis.

"I did say I can bring more of them. A large quantity, even."

Haruki already planned to dive into the Land of the Dead for both his awakening and these precious marbles.

Rin folded her arms under her chest. "There is a better customer for the jewels than the association." Rin made a sour expression as she recalled the household that despised anything and everything Japanese. "Edelfelts…"

She wasn't deeply acquainted with the Edelfelt family, her distant relatives. They could afford any number of jewels Haruki could throw at them. Like the Tohsaka family, the Edelfelt also specialized in the Jewel Magecraft. And unlike Tohsaka, the Edelfelts were ranked among the wealthiest and most influential families in the Clocktower.

The familiar name from Rin's mouth puzzled Haruki for a moment. "Edelfelt…? The drill-haired ojou-san?"

Luviagelita Edelfelt, the daughter of the Edelfelt family, and Rin's rival in the Clocktower. The said rivalry had yet to develop since Rin only went to Clocktower to study after the Holy Grail War reached its conclusion.

"Yes, her! How do you know her?" Rin asked, casting a suspicious gaze on Haruki. She had only seen Luviagelita, the heiress of the Edelfelt household, in pictures. It was odd for Haruki to know about her from Japan of all places. Wasn't he an ordinary person before the war started?

"I don't know."

"..."

"Anyways, can you contact them? I need Semi to start working on Semiramis' Noble Phantasm as soon as possible."

"I will do it right away. We'll need to go to London or Finland to meet her."

The Edelfelt household was located in Finland, but Luvia was studying in the Clocktower.

Haruki closed the drawer and looked at Rin. "Can you handle this, Rin? I'll be a lot busy with something else."

He would have loved to meet a potential ally for his troubles. However, he had to farm the enemies in the Land of Dead. His personal strength took priority.

"Leave it to me!" Rin wasn't going to let down the man who saved her and her sister. She had been doing nothing but running around since the war. It was time for her to shine and show her worth. "Sakura, I'll be returning to my mansion… you're welcome there anytime."

Sakura did want to go with Rin, but the talk from before seemed like the Grail wanted her for some reason. Going out right now would be foolish, to say the least. She wanted to stay here with Medea and hone her magecraft skills.

"Be careful, Nee-san," Sakura warned, a look of concern plain on her face.

Rin put her hands on her hips, smiling smugly as she did. "I got this."

Haruki smiled at Rin's enthusiastic side. "Medusa, can you accompany Rin?"

Angra Mainyu had no reason to chase Rin outside of Japan. Still, letting Medusa accompany Rin was better than risking Rin's life. Medusa's A-Rank Agility paired with Monstrous Strength skill should give her an edge over other servants. Outrunning Uesugi Kenshin and Oda Nobunaga won't be hard for Medusa.

"I can, Master," Medusa replied through telepathy. "Sakura's sister will see no harm under my protection."

Rin left the room with a big smile while a stealthy Medusa tailed her.

"Mom," Haruki plopped down on the bed and called his mother out. "What made you change home now?"

Artoria stared at her master as though he had gone insane. Then, she felt it. A ghostly presence stirring the winds in the room. The Excalibur came together through golden sparks to protect Haruki.

"Artoria, it's my mom," Haruki calmly said, stopping Artoria from purging Kaede's spirit with her sword.

"Haru, our home was too small for your party," Kaede said. "I couldn't let them doubt our dignity."

Haruki showed a wry smile. "Why were you working overtime if we weren't poor?"

"Uhm… I wanted to raise Haru with the money I earned through hard work. I wanted to be a good mother. Best mother in the multiverse… but I kicked the bucket before I could show my true love… sad."

Her earnest claims earned a look of disapproval from Semiramis. The former Empress wasn't fond of mothers in general. She remained silent to not anger the man deeply in love with his mother.

Haruki was too busy to notice anything outside of his narrow field of vision focused solely on Kaede's voice. "You are the best mother I could ask for."

He was unsure if Kaede knew he was a reincarnated person. A Beast-class like her could effortlessly dig through his memories. Yet, she never brought it up.

"She does know you aren't her original son," Arch answered his confusion. "Don't worry."

'...That's strange.'

A mother would naturally freak out at this incident. Then again, Kaede wasn't a normal human being. She was a Beast born with a sole goal: Destroy humanity.

"She is just a pervert," Arch said. "She just wants your dick."

'I don't understand… why do you hate her so much?'

"I don't hate her. I loathe her very existence. I wanted to crush her and the world… she should thank you for being alive."

Arch's voice was filled with genuine hatred, or she was too good at faking emotions. Either way, the Dragon Goddess wasn't a fan of Kaede.

'You know how much I love her. If you—'

"I know how big of a momcon you are. I'll not touch her as long as you are alive. If you die by any chance, however, consider the world erased from existence."

Haruki shuddered from the sheer hatred dripping from Arch's voice. Arch was giving serious yandere vibes. Who else would destroy a world for one person? His death would endanger the entire world, including his lovers.

'More reasons to not risk my life.'

***

A looooong chapter to clear some mysteries and create more in the process.